title: Using evidence-based practice in providing care.
abstract: Case managers are in prime positions that enable them to implement initiatives, which may lead to evidence-based practice. The possibilities abound regardless of the setting; case managers are charged with the delivery of patient care in the most efficient manner. When the best care is given to patients within the shortest time frame, everyone benefits--the patients and their families, case managers and other staff, and the entire organization. The various tools used to coordinate patient care--protocols and pathways--can be readily used to collect data in a standard way; this is a vital step in initiating evidence-based practice. Initiatives leading to evidence-based practice require several phases: obtaining evidence, monitoring the use of evidence, and evaluating the use of evidence in practice. This article will describe the use of evidence-based practice for case managers and demonstrate the steps to ensuring successful implementation in patient care activities.
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, School of Nursing, USA. dmmateo@gateway.net
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mateo
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D019091:Critical Pathways; D003625:Data Collection; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D020407:Internet; D019370:Observation; D015588:Observer Variation; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D024382:Professional Role; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design