• Catherine Hudon, Maud-Christine Chouinard, Pierre Pluye, Reem El Sherif, Paula Louise Bush, Benoît Rihoux, Marie-Eve Poitras, Mireille Lambert, Hervé Tchala Vignon Zomahoun, and France Légaré.
• Département de Médecine de Famille et de Médecine d'Urgence, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada Catherine.Hudon@usherbrooke.ca.
• Ann Fam Med. 2019 Sep 1; 17 (5): 448458448-458.

PurposeCase management (CM) interventions are effective for frequent users of health care services, but little is known about which intervention characteristics lead to positive outcomes. We sought to identify characteristics of CM that yield positive outcomes among frequent users with chronic disease in primary care.MethodsFor this systematic review of both quantitative and qualitative studies, we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO (1996 to September 2017) and included articles meeting the following criteria: (1)population: adult frequent users with chronic disease, (2)intervention: CM in a primary care setting with a postintervention evaluation, and (3)primary outcomes: integration of services, health care system use, cost, and patient outcome measures. Independent reviewers screened abstracts, read full texts, appraised methodologic quality (Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool), and extracted data from the included studies. Sufficient and necessary CM intervention characteristics were identified using configurational comparative methods.ResultsOf the 10,687 records retrieved, 20 studies were included; 17 quantitative, 2 qualitative, and 1 mixed methods study. Analyses revealed that it is necessary to identify patients most likely to benefit from a CM intervention for CM to produce positive outcomes. High-intensity intervention or the presence of a multidisciplinary/interorganizational care plan was also associated with positive outcomes.ConclusionsPolicy makers and clinicians should focus on their case-finding processes because this is the essential characteristic of CM effectiveness. In addition, value should be placed on high-intensity CM interventions and developing care plans with multiple types of care providers to help improve patient outcomes.© 2019 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

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