The Measurement for Case Managers
When measuring the success of the technology implementation, case managers should help families and self-advocates voice their opinions, their likes and dislikes, and maintain assurance that adjustments to the plan will occur in order to fine-tune supports to match goals.
Measurement should occur often enough that adjustments may be easily made, but not so frequently that the process becomes overwhelming. Upon go-live, it is not uncommon to measure every three months and move to six months to once a year as the plan is fine-tuned. Recording changes or updates in the Community Support Plan and making recommendations based on personal findings and discussions with families/self-advocates will be a main responsibility of case managers during this phase.
Review the Plan, Goals, and Objectives
When measuring the success of the technology plan in place, the first step will be a review of the initial care plan to ensure everything in the plan is still in place. An open discussion should follow to verify if the technology addition(s) are meeting the goals and objectives initially set by the team.
Considerations during review:
- Review the Care Plan/Community Support Plan goals and objectives
- Determine if the technology is being used how it was proposed
- Decide if goals and objectives were achieved
- Assess if critical needs are still being met
- Identify outcomes for discussion
Once these and other questions brought forward from the care plan have been answered, the team will be able to identify which areas are working and which supports might need adjustments.
Assess Outcomes and Identify Opportunities
Check-in with team
Case managers should have an open discussion with family/self-advocates and providers to discuss how the technology supports have changed the routine and care of the person supported and how that has had either a positive or negative impact.
- How do family/persons served feel about the new technology supports?
- What do family/persons served like about it?
- What are family/persons served uncomfortable with?
- What are the provider’s thoughts and opinions about the plan in place?
- As a case manager, what are your opinions regarding the plan and supports in place?
Review any data collected
After the trial period, or once the technology supports have been fully implemented, statistical data will be reviewed with the team and discussions on the qualitative findings will take place to identify if the technology is working as expected.
Calculate cost
Whether funded through waivers, private pay, or provider investment, case managers should be aware of the financial measures that will help gauge the success of the project. The costs should be weighed against specific goals/objectives and how much it would cost with or without technology supports. The calculations should not only consider actual dollars but also the time, energy, and resources of all members of the team.
Make Recommendations or Alterations
Upon measuring and reviewing the plan, it is a good time to explore if any technology supports in place can be eliminated (if no longer needed), augmented or used in a different way, or if adding additional technology supports makes sense to achieve better results or increase independence and privacy.
Questions to ask:
- Can anything be simplified?
- Is there too much technology for one outcome?
- Can anything be expanded?
- In areas where success has been achieved, is it possible to take the results even further?
- Are there additional duties that technology supports can assist with to further achieve the desired outcomes?
Case managers may identify and/or approve new resources to meet any changes made in the plan. They may also source funding options or additional technology options that might be helpful in achieving the desired goals of the person-served.
Additional Questions?
For additional questions regarding utilizing technology supports in care plans and how to implement them successfully, find a mentor to get the answers you need.
