234 Professional Case Management September/October 2010 Copyright © 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. After a year of bitter political de- bates and posturing on both sides, healthcare reform in the United States became a reality in late March. Although legal challenges remain and the anticipated overhaul will be rolled out gradually, the changes wrought by reform could very well be signifi- cant for case managers. The reason is care coordination, which has received even greater attention lately as a compelling answer to the pervasive question: How can healthcare effi- ciency and effectiveness be improved? Care coordination is emphasized across the spectrum of health and human services as a proven means to enhance the provision and delivery of care and treatment resources. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in its June 2007 report, “Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies: Volume 7—Care Coordin- ation,” defined care coordination as: …the deliberate organization of patient care activities between two or more participants (including the patient) involved in a patient’s care to facilitate the appropriate delivery of healthcare services. Organizing care involves the marshalling of personnel and other resources needed to carry out all required patient care activities and is often managed by the exchange of infor- mation among participants respon- sible for different aspects of care. (McDonald et al., 2007, p. 18) As stakeholders look to see who can fulfill their demands for greater care coordination, case managers will stand out as an obvious choice. Now, there is scientific research that backs the premise that case managers, and in particular certified professionals, are particularly well suited to the care coordination role. The latest field research from the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) has identified numerous essential activities and knowledge statements related to the competent practice of case manage- ment today. As you will read in the findings from the CCMC Role and Function Study (see Case Management Roles and Functions Across Various Settings and Professional Disciplines, 2010, pp. 1–33), essential activities, such as resource utilization and man- agement, and knowledge statements, such as healthcare management and delivery, relate directly to care coordination. The need for greater care coordi- nation today is widely acknowledged. As Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence (HPOE) noted: In today’s fragmented healthcare deliv- ery system, hospitals are challenged to coordinate patient care that involves multiple providers and places. Persistent fragmentation as patients move from one setting to another con- tributes to gaps in quality and effi- ciency that adversely impacts their care. (HPOE.org, n.d., Summary, p. 2) Furthermore, the potential benefits of care coordination are clearly recog- nized. A November 2008 report from the National Priorities Partnership, convened by the National Quality Forum, found that: Care coordination is an important aspect of healthcare that helps ensure patients’ needs and preferences for News and Views A New Era for Case Management Field Research Makes the Case for Case Managers in Care Coordination Vivian Campagna, MSN, RN-BC, CCM Address correspondence to Vivian Campagna, MSN, RN-BC, CCM, Past Chair, Commission for Case Manager Certification (ccmcvc@ gmail.com). As stakeholders look to see who can fulfill their demands for greater care coordination, case man- agers will stand out as an obvious choice.