The 7 C's of Case Management outlines essential skills for navigating the changing healthcare landscape. These include: collaboration through interprofessional teams built on trust and respect; communication through open conversations and active listening; coordination by maintaining connections across the care continuum and addressing barriers between specialties; commitment to healthcare delivery redesign and an open mindset; contributing knowledge and experience while cultivating leadership and avoiding burnout; confidence and conviction as an advocate guided by professional standards; and demonstrating compassion and caring with patients at the center of care.

1. The 7 C’s of Case Management
Navigating the changing landscape of healthcare requires case managers to successfully navigate the “Seven
C’s” of case management. Make sure these are a part of your daily practice!
1. Collaboration
• Requires participating in functional interprofessional care teams
• Requires a culture of trust, respect, and professional interdependence
• Case managers are key component of this new culture
2. Communication and Conversations
• Open and honest conversations among health care professionals are critical
to promote an interprofessional approach to patient care
• Bring active listening skills into everyday conversations
• Need to be fully in the moment for meaningful communication to occur
• Connect on a personal level to build trusting relationships
3. Coordination and Connections
• Maintain tight linkages with interprofessional team along all points of the
care continuum
• Recognize when silos of care exist and work to break down these barriers
• Must know what evidence-based care is for promoting effective care
transitions—and put in practice
• Recognize that patient preferences and values, and clinical expertise, are
key pieces of effective problem solving
4. Commitment
• Be committed to act as a full partner in health care delivery redesign efforts
• Need to keep an open mindset to learning new ways of thinking and doing
in regards to how health care can be delivered
• Breaking old thought patterns and honing critical thinking skills will
promote commitment to new ways of thinking and doing
5. Contribute and Cultivate
• Be accountable for contributions to delivering quality care
• Be willing to share knowledge, experience, and expertise
• Seek out leadership opportunities
• Know the way, go the way, and show the way—be a mentor
• Find balance—avoid burnout
6. Confidence and Conviction
• Bring passion to your role as a committed advocate
• Have confidence that our professional standards of practice will continue to
be the guiding light
• Never give up– move forward and onward
• Trust yourself and be true to your values and spirit
7. Compassion and Caring
• Compassion and caring are two of the most fundamental values guiding
case management practice
• Successful case management depends on shared efforts united by an ever-
present focus on the patient as the center of the care experience
• Case managers know that demonstrating compassion and caring are truly
at the heart of patient-centered care
© Copyright 2012 Mary Beth Newman, Loveland, OH