Comparison between the Chief Care Manager and the Normal Care Manager on Hospitalization and Discharge Coordination Activities in Japan: An Online Cross-Sectional Study of Care Managers in Aichi Prefecture

The Japanese long-term care insurance system came into operation in the year 2000 and the chief care manager certification system was established in 2006 to improve the quality of care management. Certified chief care managers are expected to perform the role of a specialist. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the chief care manager certificate in coordination with hospitals. In this online cross-sectional survey, responses were obtained from 448 care managers engaged in long-term care activities with all in-home long-term care support providers. Among these 448 care managers, 301 had the chief care manager certificate. Of these care managers, ≥90% regularly asked their patients about their “values” and ≥80% provided their patients with hospitalization and discharge support. Of the care managers who provided their patients with hospitalization support, 80% provided the hospitals with information regarding patient “values” at the time of hospitalization, and 50% provided the hospitals with information regarding patient “values” and information. The chief care manager certificate had positive effects on confidence in hospitalization and discharge support. However, no significant difference was observed between the activities of chief and normal care managers in terms of hospitalization and discharge support.