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By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65 – up 6% from 2018, according to the United States Census Bureau. Older adults can face unique physical and emotional health challenges. They are at higher risk of developing a range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and arthritis. But with attentive, respectful care, the aging population can still experience well-rounded lives.
Proper case management can help the most seasoned members of our society receive the support they deserve. In this article, we’ll explore ways to improve senior case management services to better support the aging population:
What Are Senior Case Management Services?
Senior case management services support older adults to help them age safely while still experiencing well-rounded lives. Sometimes aging adults need extra professional support. They may experience physical or cognitive limitations due to illness, disability, or simply the natural aging process.
Case managers play a critical role in assisting seniors by coordinating a wide range of services to promote overall health, longevity, and well-being. Senior case management services involve:
- Coordinating supportive services, including medical and non-medical care
- Keeping track of referrals, including medical providers, occupational therapists, rehabilitative specialists, and behavioral health care providers
- Evaluating benefit eligibility and navigating programs, such as nutrition and meal delivery programs
- Connecting clients to community resources
- Advocating for client needs
- Providing counseling
- Liaising with loved ones and family members
- Coordinating service delivery with social services, including housing assistance
Many assisted living facilities have case managers on staff. Case managers specializing in senior services may also be employed by the Department of Social Services, working one on one with clients and their families.
Four Ways to Optimize Senior Case Management Services
1. Use the Right Case Management Approach
Case management comes in many different forms. Senior case management service providers tend to rely on the Standard Community Care Model or the Rehabilitation-Oriented Community Care Model.
The Standard Community Care Case Management Model focuses primarily on hands-on service delivery to develop individualized care plans for each client. The Rehabilitation-Oriented Community Care Case Management Model supports older adults by emphasizing client strengths, adopting a community-based approach, skill-building, and forming positive habits.
Adopting a structured model of care helps case managers streamline their workload, intake new clients, and provide a consistent level of support.
Read our guide to learn more about other popular case management models.
2. Be Flexible
Medical emergencies, falls, and unforeseeable circumstances can quickly change a client’s case management needs. Case managers working with older adults must remain flexible and quick to react to new information.
3. Prioritize Communication With Families
Families with aging loved ones may feel obligated to help manage care, which can introduce new stressors to the family dynamic. Case managers specializing in geriatric care don’t just provide advocacy and support to their clients – they also help their clients’ family members and loved ones. By proactively communicating with client families, case managers reduce stress and can openly engage loved ones in any care plan changes, decision-making, and long-term planning.
4. Invest in Case Management Software Designed for Senior Care
Selecting the right case management tool can drastically reduce the burden of administrative case management tasks while ensuring client records are stored securely. Here are some key features you may want to consider looking for in your senior case management services software:
- Meal Delivery Coordination: Nutritional management helps ensure older adults are provided with healthy foods to enhance their overall well-being. Some case management software solutions – including CaseWorthy Case Management Software for Seniors – provide integrated mobile meal delivery app functionality. Learn more about ServTracker by CaseWorthy.
- Individual Wellness Care Plans: Find a case management platform that enables you to coordinate medical and non-medical referrals and appointments, tailored to your older client’s unique needs. Do they need transportation services, in-home support, occupational therapy, medication delivery, and/or meal delivery? CaseWorthy’s flexible platform has senior care templates and customizable integrations to coordinate a multitude of senior care services.
- Detailed Case Notes: Managing cases involving older adults can be complex and demanding. Make sure that your case management software enables case workers to input detailed case notes and even make custom note formats.
- Automated Workflows: Automations help caseworkers streamline everyday tasks and save time.
- Shift Notes: Some senior care organizations have multiple personnel supporting each client. With shift note functions, case managers can ensure streamlined care delivery across a matrixed team or providers.
- Voice-to-Text Notation: This feature can save caseworkers a lot of time – particularly in complex cases.
- Medication Management: Case management software that populates a recent history of medications administered ensures older adult clients are adhering to their doctor’s prescriptions.
- ADL and IADL Checklists: Make sure your case management software enables you to conduct and record vulnerability assessments and other wellness evaluations, including ADL and IADL occupational therapy checklists.
- Cloud-Based Platform: You should be able to securely access your case management dashboards from anywhere, anytime. Cloud-based software solutions enable teams to update client data in real time while on-the-go.
- Security Compliance: Pick a platform with world-class data protection. Make sure it’s compliant with current HIPAA, LIHEAP, and HMIS regulations.
CaseWorthy Case Management Software for Seniors Has All Of These Features – And More
Start managing cases with more efficiency and ease. CaseWorthy is a fully customizable software solution designed to help senior care organizations compile, update, and securely store client data.
