Set aside the Capital CM - do GPs indulge in care management (as in
'surely they do, don't they'?)?

Please forgive lengthy posting - just trying to set out the context for
the query. -  but who knows, probably a FAQ?

Sitting in on conversation the other day with couple of GPs and their
Practice Manager, chatting about information for Fund Mgt, when call
rec'd from local Trust re having just done (an expensive) investigation -
sans prior authorisation. GP concerned explodes, while all flip mental
hats to consider matters at client/patient-specific level. Mix of Mrs
Smith's clinical & resource mgt issues discussed. After a while we return
to aggregate Fund Mgt thinking again.

At another meeting a while back between Trust IM&T folk, some perplexity
(as in 'how can they be so inconvenient') as to why GPs as purchasers
should be so keen on getting patient-specific line-by-line feedback on
activity. 'Couldn't they be happy with...the number 42...?'

Then another conversation with a GP who took some time to explain the
increasing amount of time that he and his colleagues wd. be spending on
the case management of complex care, over extended periods of time, where
some quite subtle/sophisticated management of the care provided by the
patient's team (incl. carer) wd be needed. At this point things began to
feel eerily familiar (SWD background kicks in).

Seems that the GPs concerned do need to be able to switch hats rapidly
from clinician to resource manager & vice versa - with assoc. information
needs. Currently this mix of information req'ts isn't met, seemingly, and
they experience this as a problem.

a) Does this hat-switching, with assoc info. reqts, ring any bells for
GP-UKers?
b) if it _is_ a problem, has it already been cracked by one or more of
your helpful suppliers?
c) if the answer to b) is no, how about...a heretical thought?

Thing is, that social care informaticians have been wrestling with an
equivalent mix of practitioner and resource management issues for some
while now, and some quite useful-looking person-based systems are
emerging which seem OK at things like
- resource-tracking in complex cases
- linking assessed needs with interventions needed, then with services to
supply these interventions
- creating Care Plans for individuals and subsequently monitoring
progress.

No possibility of a straight clone, obviously, but does seem worth while
thinking about lessons learnt that might be transferable...does it?

What d'you think?
Peter Ashe
[log in to unmask]



%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%