The Impact of Trauma Case Management on Patient Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations demonstrate that nursing case management in the acute care setting improves patient outcomes. However, these findings provide limited information specific to trauma patients. METHOD: The effect of trauma case management (TCM) was measured using practice-specific variables such as in-hospital complications, missed injury rates, and length of stay. Other measures included staff satisfaction and use of allied health services. Data from 148 patients with an Injury Severity Score < 16 in the 5 months after the introduction of TCM were compared with 327 patients from the previous 12 months. RESULTS: Results demonstrated a trend toward reduced length of stay overall, more so in the older and more severely injured. TCM greatly improved missed injury detection rates (p < 0.0015) and coordinated allied health use more efficiently (p < 0.0001). Staff surveys exhibited a perceived dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of patient care (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The introduction of TCM improved the efficiency and effectiveness of trauma patient care in our institution.