ADDISON, Texas, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC) conducted an Information Exchange to bring together healthcare professionals, consumers, policy makers, and media to learn more about the issue of Transitions of Care. The breakfast meeting took place at the Crowne Plaza on October 2, 2008. Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, CMSA Executive Director and NTOCC Projector Director, and Annette Schmidt, Director, sanofi-aventis, US, spoke on four different topics:

• The current state of Transitions of Care in America
• History of the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC)
• Overview of the NTOCC vision and the NTOCC Concept Paper, Tools and Resources
• Preview of the NTOCC website -- www.ntocc.org -- and its four portals focused on Consumers, Healthcare Professionals, Media, and Policy Makers

There was also a brainstorming session on the topic of 'Ways to Work with NTOCC' and how to implement and utilize many of the tools and resources on the NTOCC website. NTOCC is being led by the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) with support from sanofi-aventis US LLC.

Transitions of care include situations in which a patient moves from primary care to specialty physicians or moves within the hospital, including moves from the emergency department to other various departments, such as surgery or intensive care; or when a patient is discharged from the hospital and goes home or to an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Patients, especially older persons, face significant challenges when moving from one level of care or practice setting to another in the healthcare system.