The Effectiveness of the Case Manager-Centered Collaborative Care Model with Computer-Assisted Assessment on Quality Indicators for the Care of Dementia.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the influence of case management and its corresponding computer-assisted assessment system on the quality improvement of dementia care. METHODS: This observational study enrolled 2029 patients and their caregivers at Changhua Christian Hospital in Taiwan. Physicians who made the diagnosis of dementia would introduce the patient and caregiver dyad to the case manager-centered collaborative care team after obtaining agreement. The achievement rates of 11 quality indicators (QIs) comprising timely diagnostic evaluations, regular screens of cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms, caregiver support, and proper medication prescriptions were counted. Different timeframes (≤4 months, 4 months-1 year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, or ≥3 years) from diagnosis of dementia to collaborative care intervention were compared. RESULTS: A significantly higher attainment rate was achieved for patients with earlier entry into the collaborative team model, including QIs about timely diagnosis and regular screening, and caregiver support. The QIs regarding dementia medication prescriptions and documentation of the risk of antipsychotics remained similar regardless of the time of entry into the model. The completion rates of QIs also improved after the information system was launched. CONCLUSIONS: Physician-case manager co-management in the setting of a collaborative care model with a computer-assisted assessment system helps improve QI achievement for dementia care.

Telemedicine Could Reduce the Role of Family Physicians to Case Managers.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the widespread and continuing use of telemedicine in primary care. Despite telemedicine's benefits, it threatens to reduce the role of family physician to that of gatekeeper and case manager, nullifying decades of experience and medical intuition that is more difficult to develop and apply virtually. Additionally, many values of family medicine have eroded during this global process. The narrative presents 3 vignettes that illustrate different ways in which we contend with this complex issue. The challenges presented by telemedicine require us to re-examine our professional and personal values such as maintaining the centrality of the therapeutic relationship with patients. The greatest concern, however, relates to the future of the profession and the ability of new family doctors to overcome the challenges of telemedicine in an increasingly digital world.

Impact of training and case manager support for traditional birth attendants in the linkage of care among HIV-positive pregnant women in Southwest Nigeria: a 3-arm cluster randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) accounts for 90% of all new paediatric HIV infections in Nigeria and for approximately 30% of the global burden. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a training model that incorporated case managers working closely with traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to ensure linkage to care for HIV-positive pregnant women. METHODS: This study was a 3-arm parallel design cluster randomized controlled trial in Ifo and Ado-Odo Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The study employed a random sampling technique to allocate three distinct TBA associations as clusters. Cluster 1 received training exclusively; Cluster 2 underwent training in addition to the utilization of case managers, and Cluster 3 served as a control group. In total, 240 TBAs were enrolled in the study, with 80 participants in each of the intervention and control groups. and were followed up for a duration of 6 months. We employed a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical test to evaluate the differences between baseline and endline HIV knowledge scores and PMTCT practices. Additionally, bivariate analysis using the chi-square test was used to investigate linkage to care. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis was utilized to identify TBA characteristics associated with various PMTCT interventions, including the receipt of HIV test results and repeat testing at term for HIV-negative pregnant women. The data analysis was performed using Stata version 16.1.877, and we considered results statistically significant when p values were less than 0.05. RESULTS: At the end of this study, there were improvements in the TBAs' HIV and PMTCT-related knowledge within the intervention groups, however, it did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). The referral of pregnant clients for HIV testing was highest (93.5%) within cluster 2 TBAs, who received both PMTCT training and case manager support (p ≤ 0.001). The likelihood of HIV-negative pregnant women at term repeating an HIV test was approximately 4.1 times higher when referred by TBAs in cluster 1 (AOR = 4.14; 95% CI [2.82-5.99]) compared to those in the control group and 1.9 times in cluster 2 (AOR = 1.93; 95% CI [1.3-2.89]) compared to the control group. Additionally, older TBAs (OR = 1.62; 95% CI [1.26-2.1]) and TBAs with more years of experience in their practice (OR = 1.45; 95% CI [1.09-1.93]) were more likely to encourage retesting among HIV-negative women at term. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of case managers and PMTCT training was more effective than training alone for TBAs in facilitating the linkage to care of HIV-positive pregnant women, although this effect did not reach statistical significance. Larger-scale studies to further investigate the benefits of case manager support in facilitating the linkage to care for PMTCT of HIV are recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was retrospectively registered in the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, and it was assigned the unique identification number PACTR202206622552114.

Registered nurse case managers' work experiences with a person-centered collaborative healthcare model: an interview study.

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity is increasingly acknowledged as a significant health concern, particularly among older individuals. It is associated with a decline in quality of life and psychosocial well-being as well as an increased risk of being referred to multiple healthcare providers, including more frequent admissions to emergency departments. Person-centered care interventions tailored to individuals with multimorbidity have shown promising results in improving patient outcomes. Research is needed to explore how work practices within integrated care models are experienced from Registered Nurse Case Managers' (RNCMs) perspective to identify areas of improvement. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe RNCMs' work experience with a person-centered collaborative healthcare model (PCCHCM). METHODS: This study used an inductive design. The data were collected through individual interviews with 11 RNCMs and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Data analysis resulted in four generic categories: 'Being a detective, 'Being a mediator', 'Being a partner', and 'Being a facilitator of development' which formed the basis of the main category 'Tailoring healthcare, and social services to safeguard the patient's best.' The findings showed that RNCMs strive to investigate, identify, and assess older persons' needs for coordinated care. They worked closely with patients and their relatives to engage them in informed decision-making and to implement those decisions in a personalized agreement that served as the foundation for the care and social services provided. Additionally, the RNCMs acted as facilitators of the development of the PCCHCM, improving collaboration with other healthcare professionals and enhancing the possibility of securing the best care for the patient. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that RNCMs tailor healthcare and social services to provide care in various situations, adhering to person-centered care principles and continuity of care. The findings underline the importance of implementing integrated care models that consider the unique characteristics of each care context and adapt different case managers' roles based on the patient's individual needs as well as on the specific needs of the local setting. More research is needed from the patients' and their relatives' perspectives to deepen the understanding of the PCCHCM concerning its ability to provide involvement, security, and coordination of care.

Tensions experienced by case managers working in home care for older adults in Quebec: first level analysis of an institutional ethnography.

BACKGROUND: Case managers play a vital role in integrating the necessary services to optimise health-related goals and outcomes. Studies suggest that in home care, case managers encounter tensions in their day-to-day work, that is, disjuncture between what they should do, in theory, and what they actually do, in practice. However, direct exploration of these tensions is lacking. As such, this study aimed to describe the tensions encountered by case managers in public home care for older adults in Quebec and their influence on day-to-day work. METHODS: An institutional ethnography was conducted through observations of work, interviews and a survey with case managers working in home care in Quebec. Data were analysed using institutional ethnography first-level analysis procedures. This included mapping the work sequences as well as identifying the tensions experienced by case managers through the words they used. RESULTS: Three main tensions were identified. First, case managers perceive that, despite working to return hospitalised older adults at home safely, their work also aims to help free up hospital beds. Thus, they often find themselves needing to respond quickly to hospital-related inquiries or expedite requests for home care services. Second, they are supposed to delegate the care to "partners" (e.g., private organisations). However, they feel that they are in effect managing the quality of the services provided by the "partners." Consequently, they go to great lengths to ensure that good care will be provided. Finally, they must choose between meeting organisational requirements (e.g., reporting statistics about the work, documenting information in the older adults' file, doing mandatory assessments) and spending time providing direct care. This often leads to prioritising direct care provision over administrative tasks, resulting in minimal reporting of essential information. CONCLUSION: The results are discussed using the three lenses of professional practice context analyses (i.e., accountability, ethics, and professional-as-worker) to formulate recommendations for practice and research. They suggest that, despite their important role, case managers have limited power in home care (e.g., with partners, with the hospital).

Changes in long-term care insurance revenue among service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted peoples' health-related behaviors, especially those of older adults, who have restricted their activities in order to avoid contact with others. Moreover, the pandemic has caused concerns in long-term care insurance (LTCI) providers regarding management and financial issues. This study aimed to examine the changes in revenues among LTCI service providers in Japan during the pandemic and analyze its impact on different types of services. METHODS: In this study, we used anonymized data from "Kaipoke," a management support platform for older adult care operators provided by SMS Co., Ltd. Kaipoke provides management support services to more than 27,400 care service offices nationwide and has been introduced in many home-care support offices. The data used in this study were extracted from care plans created by care managers on the Kaipoke platform. To examine the impact of the pandemic, an interrupted time-series analysis was conducted in which the date of the beginning of the pandemic was set as the prior independent variable. RESULTS: The participating providers were care management providers (n = 5,767), home-visit care providers (n = 3,506), home-visit nursing providers (n = 971), and adult day care providers (n = 4,650). The results revealed that LTCI revenues decreased significantly for care management providers, home-visit nursing providers, and adult day care providers after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The largest decrease was an average base of USD - 1668.8 in adult day care. CONCLUSION: The decrease in revenue among adult day care providers was particularly concerning in terms of the sustainability of their business. This decrease in revenue may have made it difficult to retain personnel, and staff may have needed to be laid off as a result. Although this study has limitations, it may provide useful suggestions for countermeasures in such scenarios, in addition to support conducted measures.

[The new nursing professions in psychiatry: One man's dream, another man's nightmare?] / Les nouvelles professions infirmières en psychiatrie, rêve des uns, cauchemar des autres ?

The deployment of case management and advanced nursing practice is shaking up the roles of the various professionals on mental health teams, and the usual organization of care in psychiatry. These changes can be perceived as either positive or worrying, depending on each individual's role and position. For the past 3 years, the mobile teams of the Centre rive gauche cluster at Le Vinatier hospital have been organized according to the principles of Flexible Assertive Community Treatment, and include an advanced practice nurse (APN) on their staff. The roles of the case manager and the APN have been rethought. A number of measures have facilitated the implementation of these new functions.

Pathways by which case managers' match support influences youth mentoring outcomes: Testing the systemic model of youth mentoring.

Keller's systemic model of youth mentoring posits there are multiple pathways through which all stakeholders in the youth mentoring process, including the program staff who support the match (or case managers), influence youth outcomes. This study examines case managers' direct and indirect contributions to match outcomes and tests how transitive interactions facilitate a theorized sequence of mentoring interactions to effect greater closeness and length, specifically in nontargeted mentoring programs. A structural equations model of case manager contributions to match outcomes was tested using data from 758 mentor-mentee matches, supported by 73 case managers across seven mentoring agencies. Results reveal direct effects of mentor-reported match support quality on match length and indirect influences on match length through increasing youth-centeredness, goal-focused orientation, and closeness. The findings confirm the presence of multiple pathways of influence, including indirect effects on outcomes via transitive interactions in match support that scaffold youth-centeredness and goal-focused interactions in the match. Findings also suggest supervisors' evaluations of case managers may provide little information about how match support influences the nature of mentor-mentee interactions.

Fifteen years of shared care for paediatric oncology, haematology and palliative patients across Queensland: The role of Regional Case Managers.

OBJECTIVE: A shared care model was implemented in 2006 in Queensland to facilitate paediatric oncology, haematology and palliative care patients receiving care as close to home as possible. Following initial diagnosis, care planning and treatment at the tertiary children's hospital, appropriate local care was coordinated by Regional Case Managers (RCMs) established at each of 10 Shared Care Units (SCUs). This enabled safe and quality regional care supported by a statewide network providing clinical governance and education. This paper examines learnings from 15 years of this shared care. SETTING: Ten hospitals throughout Queensland facilitated a statewide model of shared care for paediatric oncology, haematology and palliative care patients, supported by a tertiary hub in Brisbane. PARTICIPANTS: Regional Case Managers in Shared Care Units and their supporting staff. DESIGN: Staff from SCUs were surveyed and focus group interviews conducted. RESULTS: The paper reviews the attributes, knowledge and experience required for RCMs. Standards of care were supported through education workshops, clinical placements, chemotherapy credentialing, guidelines and standards. RCMs facilitated communication and information sharing with the tertiary centre, advocated for their cohort of patients locally and streamlined and supported the family's experience of care. CONCLUSION: The RCM role provided invaluable clinical leadership for the care of paediatric oncology, haematology and palliative patients across Queensland. As new treatments evolve, the expertise and coordination provided by the RCMs will be even more critical. Achieving high-quality shared care outcomes is underpinned by the RCMs drive to achieve statewide safety and support for this cohort of children.

Legal advice and care-effective use of care and case management: limits, risks and need for change (funded by the innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) according to §§ 92a and 92b of the fifth book of the German social code (SGB V). Funding code 01NVF17029 (RubiN) regional uninterrupted in the network).

INTRODUCTION: An important dimension of care and case managers is to support geriatric patients in obtaining social services in medical, nursing, therapeutic and social fields. To this, they advise and represent their patients. METHODS: The documentation of patient contacts with case managers of a network of physicians was evaluated. In particular, activities involving legal advice were analysed in detail, compared with the current legal situation in Germany and evaluated. In addition, qualitative expert interviews were conducted. The content and the legal requirements of legal services law were determined by applying legal interpretation methods (esp. wording, telos, systematics). The results of the evaluation of the documentation were compared with legal requirements. RESULTS: Care and case management touches activities in some fields of action without having a legal basis in legal services law. This leads to the fact that these services may not be provided and to - uninsured and uninsurable - liability risks. DISCUSSION: With the introduction of care and case management into standard care, both social law and the Legal Services Act must be adapted to enable the legally compliant use of care and case managers. Otherwise, certain services that are useful for the care of patients may not be provided.

Nurse and case manager views on improving access and use of healthcare for adults living in permanent supportive housing.

Housing is one of the social determinants of health, and homelessness is associated with health inequalities including increased morbidity and decreased life expectancy. Services to improve access to and use of primary healthcare are provided to formerly homeless individuals (hereafter residents) who live in permanent supportive housing (PSH). Residents do not always utilize services, nor receive adequate healthcare, and often have poor health outcomes. The study aims were to explore nurse and case manager (hereafter participants) views on the challenges of providing healthcare to residents, and strategies to address challenges. This descriptive, qualitative study used thematic analysis. Five nurses and eight case managers working with residents of PSH agencies were interviewed using semistructured interviews. Five main themes emerged. The first theme of context of healthcare use included how the residents' history of homelessness, trauma, and survival affected using services. The second theme was how aspects of relationships (communication issues and mistrust) were barriers to care. The third theme was how residents' health issues (physical chronic diseases, mental health, and substance dependency) affected care. Community level barriers (insurance, financial hardship, and transportation) was the fourth theme. The final theme highlighted recommendations to improve access and use of healthcare by building rapport, addressing mistrust, and using effective communication techniques. Participants noted that barriers to healthcare use were often influenced by residents' previous homeless experience. Nurses noted that chronic physical health issues were problematic for residents. Participants expressed the need to take time to form an authentic relationship to increase trust with residents.

A Qualitative Study of the Working Alliance in the Strengths Model of Case Management with People with Severe Mental Illness.

The purpose of this study was to examine clients' perceptions of the client-case manager working alliance in the context of receiving the Strengths Model of Case Management. Twenty people with severe mental illness, with a SMCM case manager, participated in semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Using first and second cycle coding, data were analyzed thematically. People in the study attributed personal life changes to their relationship with their case manager. They valued their case managers' flexibility and highlighted their work on a wide range of goals of their choosing. Case managers approached the SMCM intervention responsive to their clients' preferences and choices. The working alliance serves as a key element of the SMCM intervention. Clients describe the working alliance as helping to improve their lives. This study supports the implementation of SMCM with people with severe mental illness due to its focus on fostering a strong working alliance.

[Establishment of Role and Core Competencies of Geriatric Case Managers in Taiwan].

BACKGROUND: Older adults have unique and complex care needs that are multifaceted, continuous, and integrated and that span prevention and treatment to long-term rehabilitation. Case managers are able to integrate healthcare and social resources to help older adults and their caregivers manage the needs of daily life. Therefore, identifying the role and core competencies of geriatric case managers in Taiwan is crucial. PURPOSE: To develop the role and core competencies of geriatric case managers in Taiwan. METHODS: Based on a review of the literature, a two-round modified Delphi technique was used to evaluate the framework of the geriatric case manager role and core competencies. Experts were invited to join a panel to review and rank the importance of each role and competency within the context of the Delphi technique. RESULTS: Four roles and 36 core competencies of geriatric case managers were identified, and 94.4% consensus was reached in round two. The roles and core competencies included care expert (18 competencies), coordinator (6 competencies), consultant (6 competencies), and evidence-based practitioner (6 competencies). CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Training programs may be developed for geriatric case managers based on the results of this study to further promote the quality of provided geriatric care.

Palliative care for case managers: Building capacity to extend community-based palliative care to underserved older adults.

Palliative care has demonstrated effectiveness in alleviating the biological, emotional, social, and spiritual symptoms that accompany serious illness, and improving quality of life for seriously ill individuals and their family members. Despite increasing availability, there are significant disparities in access to and utilization of palliative care, particularly among diverse, low-income, and community-dwelling older adults with chronic illness. Training frontline service providers is a novel approach to expanding access to palliative care among underserved elders. This article presents a process and outcome evaluation of a palliative care curriculum that was developed and piloted for geriatric case managers in a large urban area. We describe the background, planning, design, implementation, and preliminary outcomes associated with a pilot implementation of the curriculum. We conclude with implications for replicating efforts to enhance frontline providers' knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in extending palliative care to communities that lack access to critical supports for their burdensome symptoms.

Nurse Case Manager Lifestyle Medicine (NCMLM) in the Type Two Diabetes patient concerning post COVID-19 Pandemic management: Integrated-Scoping literature review.

Background: The American Case Manager Association defines Case Management, in Lifestyle Medicine perspective, a collaborative practice between all the actors involved in the care process. The goal of this review was to evaluate the Nurse Case Manager role in Type 2 Diabetes patients, analyzing the quali/quan-titative data related to Nurse Case Management programs in Lifestyle Medicine view. Study design and Methods: Three independent operators were involved in two distinct phases, applying the Prisma method, specifics PICOS and research strategies from PubMed and Cinahl. The first part integrated a Cochrane systematic review on the Specialist Nurses in Diabetes Mellitus, while the second part evaluated the Nurse Case Manager interventions in Lifestyle Medicine view. Results: The first part includes 13 studies and the second 6. The glycemic control was improved in the Nurse Case Manager groups in Lifestyle Medicine perspective. Good results were appreciated in secondary outcomes: lipid profile, Body Mass Index, quality of life and stress management. The results for the management of self-care and adherence to Lifestyle Medicine programs are encouraging. Conclusions: It emerged unequivocally that, taking care and supporting the diabetic subject, leads to significant benefits in the general health and to reduction of possible complications. After the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Nurse Case Manager Lifestyle Medicine could represent a valid alternative of health management for the improvement of care in Type 2 Diabetic patients.

Process evaluation for the Care Homes Independent Pharmacist Prescriber Study (CHIPPS).

BACKGROUND: Medicines management in care homes requires significant improvement. CHIPPS was a cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of integrating pharmacist independent prescribers into care homes to assume central responsibility for medicines management. This paper reports the parallel mixed-methods process evaluation. METHOD: Intervention arm consisted of 25 triads: Care homes (staff and up to 24 residents), General Practitioner (GP) and Pharmacist Independent Prescriber (PIP). Data sources were pharmaceutical care plans (PCPs), pharmacist activity logs, online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results were mapped to the process evaluation objectives following the Medical Research Council framework. RESULTS: PCPs and activity logs were available from 22 PIPs. Questionnaires were returned by 16 PIPs, eight GPs, and two care home managers. Interviews were completed with 14 PIPs, eight GPs, nine care home managers, six care home staff, and one resident. All stakeholders reported some benefits from PIPs having responsibility for medicine management and identified no safety concerns. PIPs reported an increase in their knowledge and identified the value of having time to engage with care home staff and residents during reviews. The research paperwork was identified as least useful by many PIPs. PIPs conducted medication reviews on residents, recording 566 clinical interventions, many involving deprescribing; 93.8% of changes were sustained at 6 months. For 284 (50.2%) residents a medicine was stopped, and for a quarter of residents, changes involved a medicine linked to increased falls risk. Qualitative data indicated participants noted increased medication safety and improved resident quality of life. Contextual barriers to implementation were apparent in the few triads where PIP was not known previously to the GP and care home before the trial. In three triads, PIPs did not deliver the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was generally implemented as intended, and well-received by most stakeholders. Whilst there was widespread deprescribing, contextual factors effected opportunity for PIP engagement in care homes. Implementation was most effective when communication pathways between PIP and GP had been previously well-established. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The definitive RCT was registered with the ISRCTN registry (registration number  ISRCTN 17847169 ).

The care manager meeting the patients' unique needs using the care manager model-A qualitative study of experienced care managers.

BACKGROUND: Implementation of a care manager in a collaborative care team in Swedish primary care via a randomized controlled trial showed successful outcome. As four years have elapsed since the implementation of care managers, it is important to gain knowledge about the care managers' long-term skills and experiences. The purpose was to examine how long-term experienced care managers perceived and experienced their role and how they related to and applied the care manager model. METHOD: Qualitative study with a focus group and interviews with nine nurses who had worked for more than two years as care managers for common mental disorders. The analysis used Systematic Text Condensation. RESULTS: Four codes arose from the analysis: Person-centred; Acting outside the comfort zone; Successful, albeit some difficulties; Pride and satisfaction. The care manager model served as a handrail for the care manager, providing a trustful and safe environment. Difficulties sometimes arose in the collaboration with other professionals. CONCLUSION: This study shows that long-term experience of working as a care manager contributed to an in-depth insight and understanding of the care manager model and enabled care managers to be flexible and act outside the comfort zone when providing care and support to the patient. A new concept emerged during the analytical process, i.e. the Anchored Care Manager, which described the special competencies gained through experience. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02378272  Care Manager-Coordinating Care for Person Centered Management of Depression in Primary Care (PRIM-CARE).

The Association Between Case Manager Interactions and Serious Mental Illness Following a Physical Workplace Injury or Illness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Workers' Compensation Claimants in Ontario.

Poor mental health is a common occurrence among workers recovering from a work-related injury or illness. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the association between adverse interactions with workers' compensation case managers and experiencing a serious mental illness 18-months following a workplace injury or illness. A cohort of 996 workers' compensation claimants in Ontario Canada were interviewed 18 months following a disabling work-related injury or illness. Perceptions of informational and interpersonal justice in case manager interactions were defined as the primary independent variables, and Kessler Psychological Distress (K6) scores greater than 12, indicative of a serious mental illness, was defined as the outcome. Multivariate modified Poisson models estimated the association between perceptions of adverse case manager interactions and a serious mental illness, following adjustment for sociodemographic and work characteristics and pre-injury mental health. The prevalence of serious mental illness at 18 months was 16.6%. Low perceptions of informational justice, reported by 14.4% of respondents, were associated with a 2.58 times higher risk of serious mental illness (95% CI 1.30-5.10). Moderate and low perceptions of interpersonal justice, reported by 44.1% and 9.2% of respondents respectively, were associated with a 2.01 and 3.57 times higher risk of serious mental illness (95% CI moderate: 1.18-3.44, 95% CI poor: 1.81-7.06). This study provides further support for the impact of poor interactions with claims case managers on mental health, highlighting the importance of open and fair communication with workers' compensation claimants in ensuring timely recovery and return-to-work.

Pediatricians as Case Managers Reduce the Exposure to Computerized Tomography in Children Experiencing Minor Head Trauma.

BACKGROUND: Head trauma is one of the most common reasons for pediatric emergency medicine department (PED) visits. Computerized tomography (CT) scan is considered the criterion standard for the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury but was shown to increases the risk of malignancies. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed collected data of all children (ages 0-16 years) experiencing mild head trauma who were admitted to a single center, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015. Comparison between patients treated by pediatricians/pediatric emergency medicine physicians (PEMP) with those treated by surgeons regarding CT rates and prognosis was done. RESULTS: During the previously mentioned period, 4232 children presented to the PED after minor head trauma, the average age was 5.4 (±4) years and 67.1% were male. Head CT was done in 7.7%, of which 30.7% had positive findings. Younger children tended to have higher percentage of positive findings on CT scan (60%, 43.8%, 26.6%, P = 0.003, for children up to 5 months, 5-24 months, and older than 24 months, respectively). Pediatricians ordered less CT scans when compared with surgeons (5.4% vs 8.5%, P < 0.001). Moreover, they had higher rates of positive findings on CT scan (52.5% vs 25.8%, P < 0.001). When all other characteristics were similar, if the case manager was a pediatrician, the patient's chances to undergo a CT scan were 4.3 times lower than if the case manager was a surgeon (odds ratio, 4.277; confidence interval, 2.274-7.104). No difference in readmissions or other complications were found between the 2 groups. DISCUSSION: This study highlights that when the case manager of children with minor head trauma is a pediatrician/PEMP, CT scan rates and thus exposure to radiation are diminished without a failure to detect clinically important traumatic brain injury.In conclusion, our findings suggest that when possible, all children experiencing minor head trauma should be treated by a pediatrician/PEMP in the PED.

[Case managers' perceptions on their role in (future) euthanasia requests in patients with dementia]. / Casemanagers over hun rol bij (toekomstige) euthanasiewensen van mensen met dementie.

To anticipate future suffering due to dementia a growing number of people draft written advance euthanasia directives (AED). In actual practice the number of cases of euthanasia in advanced dementia is very limited. Dementia case managers are often closely involved since an early stage of the disease in the support and guidance of people with dementia and are well positioned to talk about the AED. This study aims to acquire insights into the way case managers deal with AEDs of people suffering from dementia. This qualitative study consists of two focus groups of ten case managers in total. Involvement of case managers was found to extend beyond discussing merely AEDs, to also the broader discussion of euthanasia and 'future euthanasia wishes' of patients with dementia. A thematic analysis of how case managers proceed with future euthanasia wishes yielded five themes: 1) Scenarios in practice; 2) Introduction of a written euthanasia directive as a conversation topic; 3) Guidance and support of the client and caregiver; 4) Cooperation with other health care workers; 5) Experienced dilemmas. The insights, provided by this study, into the role of case managers regarding the guidance of people with dementia and a future euthanasia wish contributes to a further optimization of the multidisciplinary collaboration between general practitioners and dementia case managers. Further research into the added value of this collaboration in dealing with these complicated issues around euthanasia in dementia care, is recommended.