ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the impact of patients co-mingling the use of their provider’s cyber-health technology tools with their own personal use of the cyber environment to navigate their own healthcare needs. The emergence of cyber-patients will revolutionize the discipline of healthcare case management. The chapter discusses the principles of case management and strongly suggests the need to formally subdivide the management of health into financial case management (FCM) and clinical case management. FCM based in a hospital setting should ideally contain continual proactive training and educational programs to manage change, and assure financial integrity in an environment of complex reimbursement requirements. Prior to establishing an FCM process, errors regularly occurred at the point of patient care delivery. The FCM specialist developed skill sets in understanding the financial requirements, contractual obligations, and legislated reimbursement requirements. Case management roles are well established in brick and mortar healthcare settings, but these roles will be significantly altered and expanded in the cyber-environment.
