CARE COORDINATION OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS

Abstract

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are those who require an amount of health care services that is greater than normal due to their chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition (McPherson). The extra care requires management and coordination commonly known as care coordination. Care coordination looks different in different regions in Arizona, because the primary care coordinator could be the caretaker, primary care physician (PCP), or a social worker. The caretaker is generally the care coordinator for the child which is stressful for parents who are not in the medical field (Lyles). In Arizona, there are multiple systems that are present such as the physician led coordination at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, coordination by the social worker at Tucson Medical Center (TMC), and the caretaker as the care coordinator. Many of the difficulties have been studied and surveyed, but there is not enough relevant literature and current studies are being conducted to understand the process and design a new system for care coordination.