Case Managers Can Improve Hospital Resource Management

Ten years ago, the phrase “resource management” was often a euphemism in people's minds for “what the insurance companies will and will not pay for.” Since then, the term has been used liberally and in various contexts, occasionally as a synonym for utilization review. Now, given the spotlight on healthcare reform in the United States, resource management is taking on new and more urgent meaning. Increasingly, resource management is viewed as a way for hospitals and other care settings to self-police their use of clinical resources, whether at bedside or system-wide.