Journal of Professional Case Management, Vol. 13, No. 3, 151–158, 2008, Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Discusses the need for and promotes the establishment of “Guided Care.” This would mean assigning a nurse to serve as a coordinator of medical care for the elderly, and to support and train family caregivers to help manage their loved ones care. As evidence of the need, this study cites and quotes findings from the Institute of Medicine: “The present system of American healthcare is a loose array of physician groups, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations [that] operate as silos, often providing care without the benefit of complete information about the patient’s condition, medical history, services provided in other settings, or medications prescribed by other clinicians (Institute of Medicine, 2001, p. 4).” However, Medicare does not pay for the proposed “Guided Care” service at this time, leaving it up to the family caregiver to play this crucial role of coordinating and managing their elderly loved one’s care.
