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Lesson 11: Organizational and Resource Tools for Case Managers

 

   

Objective

Case Managers will have an understanding of some desk top tools that can be used to support efficiency in case management work and  be introduced to some of the IT programs that are relevant for case management.

 Microsoft Outlook tool – Outlook provides a number of organizations support tools for use by Case Managers.  For example Outlook email for communicating with the multidisciplinary team; folders for storing important emails that can be stored indefinitely; public folders that contain needed information such as the BUMED Camaraderie training calendar, etc; phone number and email address contact lists; calendar for scheduling appointments by checking other users availability and then inviting; task list for tracking key projects, task list for assigning tasks to others.  These are many of the Outlook tools all can help support the organization of a case managers work flow.   To learn more about these tools check with your department lead and co-workers, type a question in the help portion of Outlook or call your local IT help support desk. 

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Shared Drives – Each Command typically has a shared drive (differentiated from the hard drive each PC user will have in their C drive or the drive that is used to back up documents such as the H drive).  The shared drives can be used to share important documents that many Command users will want to access.  For Example at BUMED the Plan of the Week is now kept on the shared drive so that everyone at BUMED can review the POW every week at a convenient time.   

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Case Management Directory- All Case Managers located at each Navy MTF are entered in the Directory that is updated at least quarterly by BUMED CM personnel.  The Directory is conveniently maintained in an excel file for ease of searching by name, MTF location, etc.  A Directory of Army and Air Force Case Managers as well as Navy Safe Harbor and Marine Corps Wounded Warrior key personnel is also distributed or being developed to be included in the distribution of the Case Management Directory 

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Defense Connect Online (DCO) – A secure web based tool endorsed by the DoD that is available to be used for setting up a web conference.  Web conferencing maybe of use when you plan to have a meeting and share a document with a group of remote coworkers.   Although this tool maybe beyond the purview of most, it is a tool to be aware of.  In the event it is of use, the advantage with DCO is that other users on the site can view a host’s desktop document on their own individual PCs.  Ideally having phone lines to additionally have a verbal conversation during the web based conference enhances communication.  In some situations without phone lines, the web host with a headset that includes a microphone can speak into the DCO site while attendees logged into the DCO site, listen with the PC speakers and, if needed, use a chat box to communicate.  DCO is currently the web tool being used for CAMARADERIE as noted in the “Life Long Learning” lesson.   

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IT Systems Tools Related to Case Management 

MedBolts:  Medical Board Online Triservice Tracking System 

     •         Tracks all aspects of MEBs and MEBRs
      –        Patient Administration at your command is responsible for maintaining accuracy of the system
      –        PEB Final findings
      –        LIMDU cases (longitudinally throughout a career and across all MTFs)
      –        Returned to Full Duty entries    
•         Provides views of all current and historical MEBs
      –        Vital to assisting service headquarters and parent commands with appropriate personnel community management
•         Offers prompts on action items due for each user at each log-on
•         Next Phase Enhancements (pending additional development $$):
      –        Direct Population of fields from DEERS
      –        Ability for parent commands to access for status of personnel (similar to BUPERS Access for e.g., promotion results)
      –        Support USN MTF boards on Soldiers and Airmen (forms) 

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JPTA

  • Joint Patient Tracking Applications
  • Web-based patient tracking and management tool that collects, manages, analyzes and reports data on patients arriving at medical treatment facilities (MTFs) from forward deployed locations
  • Developed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC)
  • Features include,

o   View patient movement information from the U.S. Transportation Command allowing users to view the number of evacuations of each theater, with the ability to drill down through the lines of service, the unit and the individual Soldier level

o   Streamlines information about incoming and outgoing patients from MTFs

  • Benefits include,
    • Ability to view real-time status of sick and injured troops – by name – as they move throughout forward deployed medical treatment facilities
    • Improves medical staff's ability to anticipate and plan for the needs of incoming patients, as opposed to waiting until they arrive
  • Uses Include,                  

o   Commanders and medical personnel use JPTA to track patients’ whereabouts throughout the combat zone

      o   MTF staff use the system to prepare for incoming patients           

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 AHLTA

 Case managers documenting and coding their services in AHLTA which stands for “Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application”. 

This documentation system was designed to centralize documentation of case management services and to generate a reportable form of data representing case management workload.  All case management appointments will be non “RVU” counting (E/M 99499).  All appointments will be made in one of two Medical Expense and Performance Reporting System (MEPRS) code clinics: ELA2 and ELAN.  

Special training for how to use AHLTA should be provided by each command. 

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CHCS1 

CHCS is the primary automated medical information system for the DoD and is one of the world's largest standardized health information systems. CHCS supports over 130,000 providers and staff in the delivery of health care to MHS beneficiaries at MTFs worldwide.  

CHCS covers all functions of patient care such as ancillary services, patient appointments and consultations/referrals, and admissions. For our patients, CHCS facilitates improvements in the delivery of health care that reduces wait times, increases access to medical and professional resources, and expedites diagnostic testing. For providers, CHCS promotes increased communication and supports near real-time access to patient information. CHCS employs the following functionalities to help providers deliver the best possible health care to MHS beneficiaries:

  • Patient Administration
  • Patient Appointments and Scheduling
  • Managed Care Program
  • Clinical
  • Laboratory
  • Radiology
  • Pharmacy
  • Dietetics
  • Quality Assurance
  • Workload Accounting Menu
  • Medical Services Accounting
  • Ambulatory Data Menu
  • Medical Records Tracking
  • CHCS interfaces with 40 plus external clinical and administrative systems  

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TRAC2ES:

 TRAC2ES is an acronym for the TRANSCOM Regulating and Command and Control Evacuation System, a Web-based system that tracks and coordinates movement of sick or injured service men and women within the military’s network of healthcare facilities around the world, during both war and peace. 

Web based training can be found at the following internet site: 

https://tass.trac2es.transcom.mil/Gateway/home.dod    

For any technical difficulties accessing the site, please call 703-275-5034 for assistance. 

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 Eccentrics

Essentris is a comprehensive clinical documentation system for use in inpatient settings. Essentris improves productivity by eliminating many clerical and information processing activities. The core of Essentris is automated clinical documentation, freeing users to attend to direct patient care. It provides point-of-care data capture at the patient's bedside for physiological monitors, fetal/uterine monitors, ventilators, and other patient care machines. All clinical documentation is created and stored in Essentris. This clinical data may be aggregated, trended and analyzed to manage care for a single patient or for an entire patient population. The system is currently deployed at 22 sites and accounts for approximately 55 percent of the MHS inpatient workload. 

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DEERS:  Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System

DEERS is a computerized database of military sponsors, families and others worldwide who are entitled under the law to TRICARE benefits. The following overview will assist you in assisting our beneficiaries with the registering process in DEERS and verifying and updating their DEERS information.  DEERS Registration is the key to getting your TRICARE benefits eligibility established for service members, retirees, or dependents. Below is useful process information to share with our beneficiaries.

Registration in DEERS

Active-duty and retired service members are automatically registered in DEERS, but they must take action to register their family members and ensure they're correctly entered into the database. Mistakes in the DEERS database can cause problems with TRICARE claims, so it is critical to maintain your DEERS information.

Verifying and Updating DEERS Information

You can verify your DEERS information by contacting your regional TRICARE managed care support contractor, your local TRICARE service center or the nearest uniformed services personnel office (ID card facility). Sponsors or registered family members may make address changes, however, only the sponsor can add or delete a family member from DEERS, and proper documents are required such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree and/or birth certificate. To update your DEERS information:

  • Visit your local uniformed services personnel office or contact the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office (DSO) at 1-800-538-9552. You can find the nearest uniformed services personnel office at: http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/.
  • Fax address changes to DEERS at 1-831-655-8317.
  • Mail the address change to the Defense Manpower Data Center Support Office, ATTN: COA, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771.
  • Go online to Tricare to update your information: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/deers/.

Things to Keep in Mind:

  • Each family member's eligibility record must be updated separately when changes occur.
  • Any changes that impact you or your family (e.g., marriage, birth, divorce, death) need to be reported to DEERS so that eligibility can start or stop under DoD and Service guidance.
    • If you are active duty and re-enlist, separate, retire, or move, make sure your information gets updated in DEERS as soon as possible. If you do not, you and your family might experience a break in eligibility, which means a break in health care coverage.
    • As soon as you re-enlist, take your reenlistment paper to your personnel support center or ID card facility so your information can be updated before your previous enlistment expires rather than waiting for the paperwork to go through distribution.
  • Once you retire, you need to make sure DEERS reflects your change from active duty to retiree status.

Note: If you or your family were previously TRICARE Prime under your active duty status, you need to re-enroll in TRICARE Prime under your retiree status. Contact the regional managed care support contractor (MCSC) in your retirement location to find out if TRICARE Prime is offered in your retirement area ZIP code.

    • It is important to update your and your family's home addresses because TRICARE Program information will be sent to that address.
    • Retail network pharmacies check TRICARE eligibility through DEERS. Your prescriptions will be filled only if you are in the system.
    • If you have a child that is over age 21 and a full-time student, you need to get his or her student status entered into DEERS so that TRICARE eligibility is not interrupted and access to health care is not lost.
    • If you or a family member is Medicare-eligible, entitled to Part A and enrolled in Part B, DEERS must be updated to reflect MEDICARE Part A and B status to retain TRICARE coverage. When you turn 65, the medical section of your military ID card may also need to be updated. 

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M2:  MHS Management Analysis and Reporting Tool

The MHS Management Analysis and Reporting Tool (M2) is a powerful tool used to obtain summary and detailed views of population, clinical, and financial data from all MHS regions. M2 includes Military Treatment Facility (MTF) and commercial network claims data integrated with eligibility and enrollment data. This integrated data enhances support to healthcare managers across the MHS. M2 allows users to perform trend analyses, conduct patient and provider profiling studies, and conduct business case analyses to maximize health plan efficiency. 

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CDM:  Clinical Data Mart

CDM is the clinical reporting tool for AHLTA. This tool allows users to measure analyze and manage performance of direct patient care, wellness, prevention and disease management of the MHS beneficiary population. CDM can be used to create ad hoc queries to help measure quality, safety initiatives and efficiency. CDM accounts are created by the local MTF System Administrator. Types of accounts, based on demonstrated need, include: MTF access (non-PHI and PHI levels); Enterprise access (non-PHI and PHI levels); and Provider access (PHI level).  

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CHDR:  Clinical Data Repository/Health Data Repository 

CHDR establishes interoperability between DoD’s Clinical Data Repository and VA’s Health Data Repository by incorporating the exchange of standardized data into each agency’s EHR. This integrates outpatient pharmacy and medication allergy data for shared patients. Exchanging standardized pharmacy and allergy data supports the ability to conduct drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking using data from both DoD and VA. As of October 2008, computable pharmacy and medication allergy data is being exchanged on over 21,140 patients who receive healthcare from both systems. 

Useful website: 

http://www.health.mil/mhscio/Brochures/DHIMS%20Brochure%20Final%201-16-09.pdf 

Source for Commonly Used MHS Acronyms: 

Medical Management Guide Version 3.0 Appendix B

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