An evaluation study of clinical case management using clinical case management standards

The practice of case management, together with the priorities of case managers and consumers of case management services, has not been fully evaluated. This paper describes a methodology, based on quality assurance standards, used for the evaluation of clinical case management in a remote mental health service in Australia. A randomly selected group of 25 consumers with schizophrenia or major affective disorder and their six case managers completed questionnaires about the outcome and priorities of 13 components of clinical case management. There was general agreement between consumers and case managers about which components of clinical case management had been delivered. Engagement, Assessment and Planning were seen by both groups as the most important components. Consumers rated Psycho-education more importantly than their case managers. Case management components have previously been identified and can be utilised as a form of clinical outcome measure. This methodology appears valid and merits further attention as a means of studying clinical case management and consumer priorities