Monday, March 22, 2010

8:30 - NOON

Stepping up to the next level in professional development includes obtaining the credential of Certified Case Manager, the nationally recognized professional designation for case managers and the standard by which all who are working as case managers are measured. Preparing for the examination can be daunting. What to study, how to study. This presentation will provide the tools that are necessary for successful preparation for the exam. Anyone who is planning to become a CCM should attend this valuable one day seminar. Attendance does not guarantee a passing score on the examination.

This session will include information about life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Discussion will include prematurity, ethics, challenges for discharge, and follow up care after leaving the NICU.

Noon - 1:15 p.m.

This lecture is not for the faint of heart. Wound care issues for the novice. This lecture will discuss the basic types of wounds and the current treatment options available. The appropriate clinical uses of hyperbaric therapy will also be discussed.

1:15 - 4:30 p.m.

The Traumatic Brain Injury Life Workshop will generate a new magic for the Case Manager by considering three distinct arenas of the TBI experience: Solving: The Mystery of the Injury; Deciphering: The Illusions of Recovery; Motivating: The Expectations of the Family. The physical, cognitive and behavioral characteristics of traumatic brain injury will be discussed in light of the common elements of epidemiological information. Characteristics of mild, moderate and severe injuries will be reviewed preceding a discussion of the three stages of the continuum of care: acute, discharge and compensatory. Skills of the Case Manager that contribute to more successful rehabilitation experiences from traumatic brain injury are presented. The keys to the Momentum of the patient’s rehabilitation efforts and energies will be taught. This session explores the continuum of care from the initial injury to medical care then home and work re-entry. Factors that contribute to the successful rehabilitation and recovery of a person from traumatic brain injury are shared from personal experience of the speaker.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

The magic of this presentation transports you into a new world of possibilities in your own life and practice....the magic of looking at “old” material through “new” lenses. By reflecting on the goals of the conference, possibility points are presented.

11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Is there a relationship between recovery rate and the early or even pre-mature use of opiods in the management of an injury state? Fifty percent of workers who do not return to work within six months will never work again. In one study, the use of high-dose opiods increased the average length of disability for low back pain by 69 days. And yet, opiods remain the most commonly prescribed class of drugs used in workers’ compensation, and hydrocodone with acetaminophen remains the most commonly prescribed drug in the U.S. This session examines many of the factors and predictors involved in the development of addiction to these powerful pain killers. In addition, principles or appropriate chronic pain management will also be examined.

Misconceptions about patient status, and especially Observation Status, abound. This presentation will clear up the confusion and dispel the myths related to OBV vs. Inpatient, RACs, and other regulatory acts – and then give the case manager tools to maximize reimbursement and minimize financial risk to their organizations. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from those who developed and facilitated CMAP. FMQAI developed the Case Management Assignment Protocol (CMAP), a best practice tool for hospitals to increase the number of patients assigned to the correct inpatient, observation or outpatient status. CMAP has shown to decrease both unnecessary admissions and the Medicare payment error rate.

In this presentation, Dr. Casenave will review the current understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of depression. He will describe the different subtypes of depression. Review of the various classes of medication for depression will be discussed and he will provide indications for which medication appears to be most useful with which type of depression. Dr. Casenave will review the various psychotherapies and the central role of the cognitive behavioral understanding of depression. Finally he will discuss some of the newer, alternative treatments for depression including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

No one wants to hear bad medical news. To avoid these discussions does a disservice to patients and families and often prevents them from having all of the information to evaluate healthcare options. This session will discuss why communication of “bad news’” is important, the six step guide for delivering “bad news” and will develop a mental process of what to do at each step of the process.

2:30 - 3:45 p.m.

Ms. Estrada will be discussing how partnering with the employer, medical provider, carrier and other health care professionals can reduce the employers workers' compensation cost but still provide good quality medical care for the employee. Programs that work and how to develop partnerships that work will also be discussed.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s OIG Supplemental Compliance Program Guidance for Hospitals states the following: “Often, the status of patients at the time of admission or discharge significantly influences the amount and method of reimbursement hospitals receive. Therefore, hospitals have a duty to ensure that admission and discharge policies are current and reflect current CMS rules.” Case management is evolving and the changes affecting case managers have never come so fast and with so much at stake. The fiscal health of hospitals depends on all staff, but case managers have a prominent role that can no longer be minimized. With the advent of regulatory changes such as the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program, case management roles and functions are critical. In this presentation learn how to best prepare for RAC audits while understanding the relationship complex relationship between CMS, Recovery Audit Contractors, Medicare Administrative Contractors the OIG, the DOJ and hospital case management staff.

This presentation will review the stress response syndrome and include a discussion of the role of the limbic system, especially the

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, in the development and maintenance of PTSD. Dr. Casenave will identify the diverse symptoms of PTSD and types of PTSD. He will discuss the different treatment options, including medication and psychotherapy with a consideration of new, alternative treatments, including Eye Movement Desensitization Process (EMDR).

Relationships with family pets mirror the quality of relationships among human family members. When family pets are abused, human family members are at risk of abuse, and vice versa. This presentation will explain the connections among animal cruelty, intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, and juvenile violence, and will offer strategies and resources that case managers and community coalitions can use to prevent abuse and to intervene effectively when people and pets are abused.

4:00 - 5:15 p.m.

This presentation will include WC updates including the new SIBS rules, new Case Management (proposed) rule and the new DWC 74 form.

In recent years service providers have been required to include spiritual concerns in assessments of clients’ needs. Responding to this mandate competently and ethically is challenging in light of diversity in spiritual values and beliefs among both clients and service providers. This presentation will address this challenge by providing resources for assessing and addressing clients’ spiritual concerns within the context of the clients’ own spiritual frame of reference.

Session description not provided at time of printing.

In this presentation, participants will learn the definition of hippotherapy and therapeutic riding, the goals and objectives of each program, and who is an appropriate candidate for each program. Attendees will learn how to make a referral for an appropriate candidate. In addition, each participant will be familiarized with NARHA, the North American Riding for Handicapped Association where they can find therapy centers throughout the United States.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

8:00 - 9:15 a.m.

The complex nature of the workers’ compensation system presents many ethical dilemmas for adjusters, healthcare professionals, employers, risk managers and case managers. This course will present real ethical case scenarios and how best to handle dilemmas so that an ethical balance is found between what all professionals working on the case want, while working ultimately for the best interest of the injured worker and within one’s professional code of ethics and standards.

This program will include role playing and situational settings for practicing the skills being taught. Highlights of the program will include: understating the difference between illness and disease as well as the treatment of disease and illness; understanding the natural barriers to communication that can occur during periods of emotional distress due to illness; learning techniques that will overcome these natural barriers with medically complex patients and their families; learning how to set up and control physical environment and setting to insure in depth therapeutic communication; and learning how to develop action plans for communicating with patients and their families.

Medical technology has allowed patients to survive but not recover. This has been called Chronic Critical Illness Syndrome. The largest subset of this challenging patient population is the Persistent Mechanical Ventilation (PMV) patient group. These are patients who fail to wean 10-14 days after an acute event in the short-term ICU. Research has demonstrated that there is a change in the physiology in these patients and that the compensatory mechanisms contributing to initial survival actually contribute to the failure to recover fully. This has been termed, “Allostatic Burden”. There are eight defining elements of this syndrome (nutritional, endocrine, bone loss, infections, delirium and depression, wounds, poly-neuromyopathy, and a profound burden of suffering). These elements comprise a Syndrome—and need to be treated holistically. The persistence of any of these elements, contributes to sustained Allostatic Burden. Persistent Mechanical Ventilation patients require specialty care in which these elements are assessed and addressed by a skilled clinical team. In addition, there are weaning strategies that are utilized that contribute to weaning success.

9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Case managers must be knowledgeable about the health care landscape.  This session will discuss the landscape of health care in the state of Texas.

12:45 - 2:00 p.m.

This talk will discuss opioid management, with an emphasis on the most recent national guideline recommendations for screening, trials, and on-going management of opioid treatment. Specifics of monitoring, including that for high risk patients will be discussed.

With the national roll-out of the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Initiative, hospitals are at a significant risk of losing reimbursement, particularly when it comes to proper determination of patient status for one day stays. The importance of physician documentation in minimizing this exposure, as well as for accurate coding and MS-DRG assignment, will be discussed.

No single etiology for fibromyalgia has been identified, yet numerous treatments tout benefits that seem like magic. This session will review the evidence from credible peer-reviewed research and debunk several myths that continue to circulate. A balanced perspective that uses evidence based medicine yet appreciates the possibility of magic is proposed. Addressing both the psychological/emotional factors associated with this condition and the physical processes that promote health in this impaired population will lead to reasonable and effective plans to help patients manage this condition. This informative seminar will identify a model for achieving maximum benefit for patients.

You’ve had all you can take. Your bubble is about to pop. Star-Telegram columnist and humorist Dave Lieber had spent a lifetime of writing about folks who, under difficult conditions, either wilt under pressure or rise to the top. His own struggle moving to Texas from New York, not knowing whether chicken-fried-steak was chicken or steak and getting rescued by the dog of his nightmares inspires you and makes you laugh. If a New Yorker can make it in Texas, imagine what you can do!

2:45 - 4:00 p.m.

The rising number of older workers, coupled with increased cases with diabetes and obesity poses a challenge to the workers’ compensation system. This course will provide information to better understand the legal and economic impact aging, diabetes and obesity has on the workers compensation system, the challenges these factors pose on handling claims, how to keep workers safe on the job and when accidents do occur, strategies to minimize medical, disability and workers’ compensation costs and safely and timely return injured workers to work.

This session is a physician’s perspective on Medicare’s POA initiative and hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) and whether these clinical items truly represent measures of hospital/physician quality and patient safety. Documentation strategies will be discussed that will help mitigate a hospital’s risk of triggering safety alerts and being profiled as a poor quality hospital.

Serving others has its rewards yet can increase risk of burnout over the course of one’s career. A review of factors that increase burnout and premature retirement will be followed by an array of strategies and activities that can help bring back the passion of our work. This informative and highly interactive session will provide tools we should use if we wish to continue to promote health in others without jeopardizing our own health.

In 2009, case management practitioners, educators and leaders came together to form consensus regarding the guiding principles and fundamental spirit of the practice of case management. As initially presented and with each subsequent revision, the Standards of Practice for Case Management have been based on an understanding that case management is not a specific healthcare profession but rather an advanced practice within the varied healthcare professions that serve as a foundation for case management. The standards and competencies described within the present a range of core functions, roles, responsibilities and relationships that are integral to the practice of case management. And while these Standards are offered to consistently advance the delivery of case management interventions, they are also intended be realistically attainable by individuals who use appropriate judgment regarding the delivery of case management interventions to targeted client populations. This program is offered as a vehicle to discuss and further interpret changes in the revised SOP’s and to predict the impact the changes will present to your individual practice of case management.

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

In this competitive and serious world we live in, we sometimes take ourselves too seriously. Learn to think outside the box, brainstorm with ease, and get your creative juices flowing without getting ambushed by fear.