Arranging for the treating team of doctors to have a conversation about a patient’s case is called a case conference. 

Case conferences can be decisive in helping to make big decisions about both investigations and treatments for patients especially when the patient is complex. 

Unfortunately, case conferences are not used as often as they might be. It is our job at RCM Health Consultancy to encourage participation in case conferences.

When case conferences do occur and when they involve the patient and  family, they can be revelatory in terms of sharing valuable information with the patient and family to assist in making decisions. And it is the patient and the family who have the ultimate say in these decisions. 

The team at RCM Health Consultancy has a track record of organizing case conferences with the treating doctors. This is most useful when there is complexity and some confusion about next steps instead of clarity about how the case should be managed. 

When the details of the case are unpacked within the structure of a case conference, then the treating doctors can quickly move to a harmonized view of the case. 

Our objective in organizing case conferences is the best possible achievable outcome for all our clients.   We encourage our clients to engage in case conferences with the treating doctors in a collaborative manner guided by the team members at RCM Health Consultancy. 

Case Study

Jay was 73 years of age. He was very complex. He had hydrocephalus which is a blockage of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) flow in the brain. This blockage causes neurologic complications and a tendency to fall. He also has early and progressive dementia.  The biggest risk was the risk of falling. He had 3 super specialists ( 2 neurologists and one neurosurgeon) involved. They had never spoken together about the case until we had organized a case conference. The outcome of the case conference was the decision to stent and fix the hydrocephalus to  reduce the risk of falling. Jay’s wife participated. We recorded the call for her. She and Jay were able to finally make a decision. The family appreciated the support from the team at RCM. 

Conclusion:

The case conference is proving to be an essential process for our clients. The case conference assists the treating team of doctors and the patient and family at achieving clarity about a definitive care plan. Once the definitive care plan is articulated, then the team at RCM assists in implementing the plan for our clients.

Raymond Rupert patient advocate

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So why do we have to know and remember anything? Why stuff our brains full of detail when the details can be retrieved with a simple Google search. Ask Google. Get the answer instantly at zero cost.

What can we conclude about how our minds should work with the information that Google presents to us?

The skill sets that information workers including doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and researchers should develop are different and distinctive today because of the availability of the information.

Information workers should know or learn how to formulate good and focused questions for Google so that Google is able to deliver appropriate and valuable information.

Once the answer arrives from Google, it is important to be able to interrogate the data. What does it mean? How is it relevant? How does it relate to the context of a specific client’s case?

Another skill set for information workers is the ability to combine disparate pieces of data into unique combinations. This is the creative act. Creativity is becoming more important everyday because of the focus on innovation within organizations. Innovators are prized within organizations today. And COVID 19 is an accelerant of innovation so the creative act is even more relevant during the Pandemic.

Once the new idea is created and stated. Then it is important to be able to seek feedback from a diverse group of thinkers. Diversity of perspective leads to better feedback. With the feedback, the idea can be refined and improved. Ideas at the point of gestation are like babies that need to grow up. Feedback helps to mature the ideas.

The next skill that is required is the ability to engage in reasoned and collaborative dialogue. Explaining the idea to others forces the creator of the idea to be able to defend the idea and thereby develop a deeper understanding of the idea and how it fits.

So with Google ready to respond to our questions, we as patient advocates and healthcare consultants have to be ready to employ new skills with the information that Google presents to us so that we can help our clients with their big and complex problems.

Raymond Rupert patient advocate and healthcare consultant.

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