Association of Long Term Care Medicine, Case Study Example

Initiation of the foregoing study was fostered through discussion with AMDA, California Association of Long Term Care Medicine (CALTCM) Administrator Pamela Jackson and through follow-up with the State’s Long Term Care Ombudsman’s office. My interest in study of CALTCM stems in reference to the most recent membership subscriber, annual conference: the 36^th Symposium ‘Creating a Culture of Patient Safety’ (CALTCM, 2010). Access to the papers at the site may only be reviewed by way of the affiliation; hence, my decision to further my query to the Association. The following report outlines my findings.

A professional organization for California physicians, medical directors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, and other professionals working in long-term care, CALTCM is “at the forefront of statewide efforts to advocate quality patient healthcare, provide long-term care education, and influence policy” and is the state chapter of the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA). The mission of CALTCM is to promote quality patient care across the long-term care continuum through medical leadership and education.

Founded as the California Association of Medical Directors (CAMD) in 1975, CALTCM represents statewide chapter interests of the AMDA. In 2000, the organization sought new title as CALTCM in recognition of the broad professional practice dedicated to long-term care, and to better reflect the interdisciplinary team approach inherent to its mission.

The vision of CALTCM is to serve as the medical voice of long term care in California on behalf of patients and professional members. Based on a standard of excellence in practice and individualized medical care, the Association promotes a team approach to the integration of medical science with personalized care.

The organization of choice for long term care physicians and other long term care professionals in California, CALTCM’s prospectus is committed to: 1) provision of quality education for long term care professionals; 2) offer guidelines to effective medical leadership; 3) promotion of ethical delivery of care; and 4) advocacy of the rights of patients.

CALTCM’s organizational identity as a public-private bridge in medicine is marketed as a holistic association vested in a sustainability model of social responsibility. The impetus for the Association’s decision to “Go Green” is formative to the organization’s representation as an environmentally conscious organization willing to go the distance to pass along the savings to its membership and program participants. Inferred in this change marketing discourse, is the link between member subscription and patient’ long-term environmental health.

With subscription to CALTCM, members receive a number of professional benefits:   1) networking and knowledge sharing opportunities with other long-term care associations and professionals through the portal (i.e. regulatory information), and at both live and virtual events; 2) leadership development through advocacy efforts, educational programs, and collaborative tool development; 3) best practices guidelines, medical record and direction forms, practice management tools, and improved reimbursement strategies; 4) training and education invitations to meetings, performance improvement content, and updates on therapeutics agents and trends in long-term patient care; 5) patient care advocacy on issues such as patient safety, reimbursements, Medicare, and Title VII legislation; 6) discounts to CME programs and events; and 6) the association newsletter.

The current trend in patient-centric safety is outlined as a core priority throughout the CALTCM protocol of dissemination. Of keen interest to the study, was the convergence of two trends in nursing oversight: 1) safety in palliative care institution and the inclusion of systems based risk management protocol in those practice settings; and 2) lateral violence as it is widely referenced in regard to the high prevalence of nurse-on-nurse disputes.

In Pizzi’s (2010) review of the recent RAND corporation study on the excess of $3.6T in potential healthcare waste reductions he looks at contributory institutional mismanagement in critical areas such as managed care benefits, patient record sharing, and duplication of tests and inappropriate treatments (Pizzi, 2010). The investigation found that quality assurance for risk mitigation of preventable medical errors and losses to institutional finance may be assisted by better management systems. Deeper integration of IT based healthcare management information systems (HMIS) in support of accuracy in patient care, insurance and referral partnered networks and specialist knowledge sharing practice (Tan and Payton, 2010).

My interview and attendant organizational research on CALTCM revealed a high degree of interest in such opportunities, and a clear dedication to this topic throughout the membership. Optimization of healthcare informatics with new IT systems integration now enables institutions to facilitate and management repositories of data, offers key solution to challenges present in current change management practices, as medical practitioners seek better models managing risk.

Related to the advancement of safety protocols by CALTCM is the widely studied impact that lateral violence (LV) between medical professionals and particularly nurses has had reconfiguration of protocol within practice settings (Sheridan – Leos, 2008). Significant to the research are the high number of violations of ‘a duty to reasonable standard of care.’ In this regard CALTCM‘s role is crucial to the discussion, as it pertains to regulatory compliance, employee protections, sectoral risk, and institutional malpractice.

This dual model of attention to safety in healthcare organizations is reflected in the interests of CALTCM’s most recent annual conference. Focused on core trends in institutional safety and risk management, talks from the 26^th Symposium look at a range of issues pertinent to ‘change practices’ in palliative healthcare, such as: Developing a Resident (Patient) Safety Program; Improving Geriatric Care by Reducing Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations; Transforming the Culture of Nursing Homes to Keep Residents Safe; Development of a Patient Safety Dashboard for LTC; CARE: Compassion and Respect at the End of Life; and Safety: Key Opportunities for Quality Improvement and Regulatory Compliance.  Patient-centric recommendations toward mitigation of medical malpractice examined: application of Patient Safety Principles to Pressure Ulcers; A Holistic Approach to Palliative Care in the Nursing Home; Integration of Spiritual Care into a Facility Palliative Care Program; Bringing Exceptional CARE into Nursing Homes; Medication and Medicolegal Issues & Mock Trial in Long-Term Care (CALTCM, 2010).

It is through CALTCM’s training opportunities on the above topics, that the influence and value of the Affiliation is laid forth, as members are invited to participate in workshops toward this end. From protection of clients from risk, follows protection of individual professional interest. In the medical field this is perhaps more true than other fields. CALTCM’s membership presents a case for knowledge sharing, and especially as it pertains to safety.

Works Cited

American Medical Directors Association (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.amda.com/index.cfm

California Association of Long Term Care Medicine (2010). Retrieved from: http://caltcm.org/

Pizzi, R. (2010). Study outlines $3.6T in potential healthcare waste reductions. Healthcare Finance News, 14 June 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com

Tan, J. and Payton, F.C. (2010). Adaptive Health Management Information Systems: Concepts, Cases, & Practical Applications, Third Edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Sheridan – Leos, N. (2008). Understanding Lateral Violence in Nursing. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 12 (3), 399-403. DOI: 10.1188/08.CJON.399-403