TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/06/13 -- When the Canadian Core Competency Profile for Case Management Providers is unveiled this month, a new standard for health care management will be set. "With the release of this ground breaking document, we will be raising the bar for Case Management," says Joan Park, President of the National Case Management Network (NCMN), "but more importantly, it will put the spotlight on the increasingly important part Case Management now plays in the effective delivery of health care and social services in Canada.

"Case Management really is the future and the promise for the care that we will all need as we age," says Park, who describes Case Management as a strategy, process and role that helps people navigate through our health and social service systems in a timely, compassionate and cost efficient manner.

Case Management is practiced by a diverse array of individuals in the health and social service domains including physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational and physiotherapists, and other regulated and unregulated health care providers.

In 2010, NCMN received funding from Health Canada to publish the Canadian Standards of Practice for Case Management. Additional funding from the Federal government in 2012 allowed the association to develop the newly released Core Competencies. Both documents are available in English and French.

The Core Competencies define the various roles of Case Management providers - communicators, collaborators, navigators, advocates and managers - and recommend competency guidelines for client driven care.

Who benefits? "The need is greatest for those who struggle with complex health and social issues, suffer from chronic disease, or cannot advocate for themselves," says Park. "Episodes of care often involve multiple providers as well as transfers across care settings - and that speaks to how complex and fragmented our healthcare and social service systems have become."

Case Management helps to break down accessibility barriers between health and social services. "Case Management providers ensure the patient/client gets the right care at the right place and the right time from the right provider - and that amounts to the right cost," says Park.

"With the release of the Canadian Case Management Competencies, NCMN is ready to consider creating a credentialing process, which is the next step in helping us meet Health Canada's goal of optimizing the health care workforce."

For your copy of the Canadian Core Competency Profile for Case Management Providers or the Canadian Standards of Practice for Case Management visit www.ncmn.ca.

About the National Case Management Network

The National Case Management Network (NCMN) is Canada's only membership association for Case Managers: the dedicated advocates helping patients and clients achieve better health-related outcomes. Founded in 2006, the NCMN is a growing non-profit organization based in Toronto dedicated to the professional development of care workers through education, networking opportunities, and the establishment of standards of practice.

The NCMN serves the needs of those who work in Case Management whether they are working directly with patients/clients as a care manager, or they are supporting care management as a manager, leader, policymaker, or researcher in any of these sectors or organizations: Academics, Acute Care, Home and Community Care, Community Support Agencies, Department of National Defense, Social Services, Disability Management, Entrepreneurs, Insurance Agencies, Long Term Care, Mental Health and Addictions, Regional Health Authorities, Veterans Affairs Canada, Workplace and Safety Boards, and Rehabilitation.