Nursing case management in the NICU: enhanced coordination for discharge planning.

A primary goal of health care today is finding alternative ways to provide high-quality, cost-effective care. A model of care that addresses these issues is nursing case management. This article describes the development and implementation of nursing case management in a Level III regional center with the primary goal of enhancing coordination for discharge planning. The model involves development of clinical pathways and utilization of nurse practitioners as case managers. Decreased length of stay, charge per case, and readmission rates are demonstrated following implementation of this program.