Case management: a bottom-line care delivery model. Part 1: The concept.

Nurse executives have been challenged to "reinvent" hospital-based nursing through alternative care delivery models. These models also help eliminate a major barrier to quality: the lack of understanding and ability to control the care delivery process. The authors discuss a collaborative and multidisciplinary case management model which promises to positively affect the institution's total bottom-line patient, staff, and system, including financial, outcomes.