In today's litigious world, more and more professionals are being called upon to testify as both fact and expert witnesses. Both state and federal law require the testimony of a like-kind professional to establish the standard of care or standard of professional practice, although some states are expanding the "like-kind" definition. Case Management, although not entirely recognized as a separate and distinct profession (as each practitioner must have an underlying profession to qualify as a case manager), is,no stranger to lawsuits. More and more attorneys across the country are identifying case managers as potential defendants in professional liability lawsuits. The most common area of liability appears to be in those cases where case managers make decisions based on cost-savings alone, without regard to quality. Clearly, such an action is contrary to the established standard of practice of both the Case Management Society of America (CMSA, 2010) and the Code of Ethical Conduct of the Commission for Case Management Certification (CCMC, 2009). CMSA, the professional organization and CCMC, the credentialing body, share the position that cost-effective case management must include a comparative analysis that considers the needs of the individual client, quality of service/product considered, and the impact on the payor.
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