[Care management: scientific thoughts on a current topic].
The following article deals with one of the management concepts now undergoing extensive international debate--the care management concept favored in Great Britain--and discusses its importance in respect to the optimization of outpatient nursing care in the Federal Republic of Germany. After a presentation of the key elements comprising the concept, four central task complexes relating to care management are discussed: establishing demand--and need oriented nursing, assuring the integration and continuity of care, especially when chronic diseases are involved, helping family members to provide nursing care and promoting health as one of the nursing profession's tasks. It is shown that care management is a tool that can be used to tackle deficits in outpatient nursing care and find innovative solutions to them, thereby promoting the nascent professionalization of nursing in Germany, a trend that is long overdue in international terms.
Schaeffer
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Institut für Pflegewissenschaft, Universität Bielefeld.
D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005190:Family; D005858:Germany; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D017146:Models, Organizational; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom