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Consumer/Family Satisfaction Teams (C/FST):. New Directions in Consumer and Family Involvement. Harriet Baum, Executive Director NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania. Why C/FST? . Local consumers & families advocated for inclusion in evaluation of service quality
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Consumer/Family Satisfaction Teams (C/FST): New Directions in Consumer and Family Involvement Harriet Baum, Executive Director NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania
Why C/FST? • Local consumers & families advocated for inclusion in evaluation of service quality • State DPW emphasized consumer satisfaction as a key indicator of service quality • Allegheny County PA Consumer Action & Response Team (CART), a project of NAMI Southwestern PA, began interviewing consumers & families about satisfactions /dissatisfactions with behavioral services (1998). • Program is funded through support from Allegheny County Department of Human Services and Community Care Behavioral Health (Medicaid managed care BHMCO).
CART is designed to provide: • Processes for consumers & families to dialogue with service providers • Provider responses to consumer dissatisfactions • Data collection and analysis • Aggregate reports to of system trends • Identify both satisfaction & dissatisfaction • Feedback from consumers discharged from the state hospital • Information from underserved groups to system planners
Advantages of Consumer/Family Satisfaction Teams • Independence from provider organizations. • Interviewers are former/recipients of services & family members. • The interviewers conduct anonymous face-to-face interviews. • Consumers provide more detailed responses because of the semi-structured format of interviews. • Provider organizations can demonstrate their commitment to quality improvement by using C/FST reports.
C/FST interviews persons & their parents who utilize Behavioral Health Services funded under Medicaid Managed Care: • Adult Mental Health Services • Child/Adolescent Mental Health Services • Drug and Alcohol Services • Underserved populations
Goal: • To find out if parents & consumers are satisfied with the various aspects of behavioral health services, such as providers, choice, access service delivery and outcomes • Survey consumers/parents for each service and for each providers • Utilize a problem resolution process • Produce reports for each provider service • Produce aggregate reports for Behavioral Health MCO and System planners • Publish reports for community stakeholders Process:
The Survey Process • Interviews should be face-to-face or telephone if preferred by the member • Provider sites must provide C/FSTs with comfortable private space for interviews
Reviewing the C/FST findings • C/FST provide feedback to service providers through written reports and monthly problem resolutionmeetings that allow for dialogue and review of findings • Providers are responsible for timely reports back to the C/FSTs on specific actions, quality improvements and problem resolution on identified issues
Process for problem identification and resolution • Monthly meetings with representatives of county, BHMCO, C/FST interviewers, NAMI to review provider reports, responses and need for action on issues raised • BHMCO and county provider follow-up and response to C/FST on actions taken in response to problems and concerns resulting from survey process
Reports • Quarterly reports summarize findings, improvement actions and system changes implemented by Providers in response to C/FSTs’ findings: • By providers • By BHMCO
C/FST ImpactPA Department of Welfare • Mandated expansion to all counties in managed behavioral health (HealthChoices) • Defines C/FST- establishes organizational and team requirements, survey process and targeted satisfaction areas (Appendix L) • C/FST Programs reviewed annually to ensure integrity of process
Allegheny County - Impact • Dissatisfaction with information about medication benefits and side effects – BHMCO developed and funded a consumer medication education initiative • Dissatisfactions with housing and desire for independent living – county and BHMCO initiated a housing plan and $2 million housing development fund focusing on permanent supported housing • Dissatisfaction with employment status – 2007 plan for the development of supported employment services and provider education
Opportunities to Utilize C/FST Data: • System Planning • Service Development & Provider Training • Policy Development • Advocacy • Major System changes
For Additional Information: 2006 Annual Report “Steps Towards Recovery” Consumer Action and Response Team of Allegheny County Paul Freund, C/FST Program Director, pfreund@cartallegheny.org Harriet Baum, Executive Director, NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania, hbaum@namiswpa.org