OVERVIEW
What Is a Care Case Manager?
A care case manager is a healthcare professional who works to ensure patient wellness. Regularly, you will help patients take control of their futures and pursue improved outcomes before, during, and after receiving treatment.
Care case managers can also be recognized as case managers or nurse case managers in specific circumstances where registered nurses are also providing case management services.
Care case managers typically need to obtain a valid undergraduate degree. In addition, you might also need to complete at least a few years of experience in a healthcare field, where you helped to positively influence patient outcomes.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does a Care Case Manager Do?
A care case manager might fulfill a wide range of responsibilities. They will communicate with care providers, influence treatment plans, and identify helpful community resources that can benefit a patient’s post-recovery life.
The responsibilities of a care case manager can include:
- Identifying patient needs on an ongoing basis
- Communicating with doctors, nurses, and other care providers to work together in creating patient treatment plans
- Updating treatment plans whenever necessary to continually serve a patient’s needs as they evolve
- Identifying community resources, including housing, employment, and socialization options, that can benefit a patient after they receive the care they need
- Empathizing with current patient concerns
- Supporting a patient’s family members and loved ones
- Assisting in the correct completion and filing of patient medical records
These and other responsibilities make care case managers into strong advocates for a patient’s recovery.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
What Education Does a Care Case Manager Need?
Before you can begin a career as a care case manager, you’ll need to satisfy a few educational requirements. First, students will need to complete a bachelor’s degree program that teaches necessary care coordination skills and establishes a solid healthcare foundation.
Additionally, a master’s degree can help you be prepared for that management focused role. A Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration program, where you learn valuable skills in healthcare data management, health IT, and biology, can be a great fit. This program also teaches you the basics of patient management, establishing you as a leader in the healthcare space. Additionally, an MBA in healthcare management can help you gain more business knowledge connected to the healthcare industry, and can be a great fit. When determining the right healthcare leadership degree for you, consider your desired role.
Best Degrees for a Care Case Manager
Health & Nursing
Master of Healthcare Administration
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly...
A master's focused on managing comprehensive, value-based care, directly in line with innovations in health and healthcare.
- Time: 60% of grads finish within 21 months.
- Tuition: $4,995 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 12 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Healthcare Models and Systems
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Healthcare Information Technology
Your rich experience in a health-related field can mean more when you bring a master's level of understanding to the problems that organizations need to solve.
Compare degrees
This program is not the only degree WGU offers designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Business
MBA Healthcare Management
Prepare for a career leading private or public healthcare organizations....
Prepare for a career leading private or public healthcare organizations.
- Time: WGU lets you set a schedule so you can finish your MBA in just one year.
- Tuition: $4,755 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 11 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé you will learn in this program include:
- Regulatory compliance
- Patient care improvement
- Service line development
- Healthcare trends
- Health policy and legislation
Healthcare is big business in today's complex economy. Steer your career with this specialty MBA.
Compare online business degrees
This program is not the only online business degree WGU offers that is designed to create leaders in the field of healthcare. Compare our health leadership degrees.
Health & Nursing
Nursing Leadership Certificate – Leavitt School of Health
Enhance your résumé and take a step in your educational journey with the...
Enhance your résumé and take a step in your educational journey with the help of a nursing leadership certificate from the Leavitt School of Health.
- Time: 3 months from start to finish.
- Cost: $2,000 for the certificate.
- Courses: 3 courses total in this program.
This program is for emerging nursing leaders, however this program does not require a bachelor’s degree, and provides transferable credit towards a WGU degree program. The three courses are:
- Interprofessional Communication and Leadership in Healthcare
- Intrapersonal Leadership and Professional Growth
- Nursing Leadership Capstone
How Much Does a Care Case Manager Make?
$101,340
The exact income of a care case manager can vary, based on factors that can include your employer, employer’s location, employer’s public and private healthcare funding, years of experience, education, and other factors.
On average, the salary of a care case manager is $81,648, with a range of roughly $68,238 to $96,522 earned each year.
What Is the Projected Job Growth?
28%
The job outlook for a care case manager is expected to remain favorable for years to come. Employment for closely-related social and community service managers is expected to grow 17% from 2019 to 2029. Care case managers also share job responsibilities with medical and health service managers, and both careers are expected to see 28% growth in the same time.
SKILLS
What Skills Does a Care Case Manager Need?
The role of a care case manager requires a few key skills. Whether interacting with care providers or advocating for improved patient treatment, care case managers rely on well-developed skill sets.
The skills a care case manager needs can include:
- Patient management. The ability to effectively manage patients in a way that helps them achieve and sustain recovery.
- Interpersonal communication. The ability to correspond effectively with care providers, patients, patients’ families, and community resource representatives.
- Time management. The ability to organize tasks efficiently, devoting sufficient amounts of time to daily responsibilities.
- Problem-solving. The ability to identify and overcome issues that patients may experience during or after the treatment and recovery process.
- Technological proficiency. The ability to fully use all required pieces of technology, including any computers, tablets, phones, online programs, medical devices, and electronic health records (EHRs).
- Research. The ability to identify and implement new strategies for improved patient care.
- Teamwork. The ability to work in tandem with healthcare professionals and employees to craft a welcoming, non-judgmental environment where all patients feel comfortable.
- Empathy. The ability to share a patient’s concerns as they navigate the modern healthcare landscape and undergo treatment.
These and other skills help care case managers thrive, as they work together with care providers to help patients reach and sustain recovery.
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