Introduction
The recent re-evaluation done by my major funder revealed that my clients do not have proper access to Medicare services. This led to the termination of their funding programs that have left our institution facing a major funding problem. I realized that it was necessary to identify the source of the problem in order to ensure that we remain operational (Kettner, 2002). The first step was to identify the typical obstacles that interfere with the clients’ ability to access services across agencies. The major obstacles that hinder the ability of the clients to access services across agencies were the inability of the agencies to share their data.
It was noted that these agencies do not have a closely coordinated information network that would facilitate the sharing of data. This means that if a patient needed the services offered in two or more agencies, he had to make multiple registrations with these agencies. This slowed the service delivery process. It took time to conduct a background check-up at every agency. Some clients felt that going through the same processes several times was frustrating to them; hence they avoided the services they did not consider fundamental. Another issue was the massive paperwork at these agencies. Most of them were yet to upgrade their systems to facilitate paperless record management. These factors slowed, and in some cases, hindered the process of delivering services to the clients.
Theories and Problem-Solving Strategies
Currently, our institution is underfunded, and this means that we are unable to undertake fundamental activities. To address this problem, it will be necessary to apply theories and problem-solving strategies to ensure that the issue is addressed as soon as possible.
Creative ways to facilitate client care between many different types of agencies
The first step in addressing this issue is to find ways that will facilitate clients’ care between many different agencies such as the food bank, welfare, and mental health agencies, among others (Slavin, 2005). My first strategy will be to develop an integrated communication system among all the relevant agencies. This means that all the agencies will need to upgrade their systems from the paper-intensive data systems to digital systems. The agencies will then find a way of sharing data on demand when this becomes necessary. A client who visited a mental health agency will have his data available at the food bank agency or welfare agency.
This means that such a patient will not be subjected to a rigorous process of registration once again. These agencies will be operating very closely in a way that they can support one another whenever this is necessary. When agency A has a client who needs services available at agency B, then the client will be transferred to agency B for that specific service before he is returned to agency A. the aim of this strategy is to ensure that a patient who registers at any agency can get services offered across agencies without the need to involve multiple registrations at these agencies.
How to take advantage of the knowledge about HIPAA regulations
It is a fact that the agencies in this town have specific rules and regulations that define how they offer their services. For instance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act now define how these agencies should operate. I will take advantage of this legislation as I strive to ensure that my clients get the services they need. One of the major requirements of this law is that all the providers of healthcare services and other related agencies should have electronic healthcare records and transactions to facilitate the sharing of important data. With this knowledge, I will be offering these institutions, especially those that are yet to digitize their records, an opportunity to abide by the law. Another important principle under this legislation is that all the care providers are expected to ensure that the privacy of their patients’ records is not breached.
With paper records, protecting the information about the patients can be challenging. These institutions cannot prove to the authorities that there was an unlawful breach in case the information is accessed by third parties. However, when the data is digitized, it becomes easy to prove cases of fraud, hence protecting the providers against any court proceedings. When these regulations are observed by these institutions, then it becomes easy to have a closely coordinated community of care providers. This will enable my institution to achieve the objective of making the services available to all its clients (Feit & Li, 2008).
Suggestions on how agencies in this town can streamline the intake process
Agencies in this town can streamline their intake processes through a number of ways. The first step that they should take is to digitize their intake process. This will enhance the speed and accuracy of the process. The digitization will also make it easy for the providers to retrieve data whenever this is necessary. The second step is to have a database that will facilitate the sharing of relevant data from their clients. When a patient is getting mental care services at Agency A, this information may be necessary for Agency B that is offering home care services. Agency B will need to know how to handle such patients because of his unique mental capacities.
However, this can only happen when the two agencies have a close relationship that can facilitate the sharing of data. When this is not the case, then it is possible for Agency B to treat such a client as one with normal mental capacity. This may be catastrophic, especially when the client’s mental status becomes unstable (Lewis & Lewis, 2012). The client may become violent, harming the care providers or other fellow clients. Sharing of relevant data about these clients may help in eliminating such eventualities. Finally, I am suggesting that all these agencies should share their research findings, and if possible, most of the research should be done jointly.
Ways to facilitate access to services by eliminating some of the intake procedures
Access to services in this town can be enhanced if some intake procedures can be eliminated. For instance, if these providers can share relevant background information of their patients, then the procedure of conducting a background check for the patients can be eliminated when he visits subsequent providers. This does not only make the process of offering care simpler to the providers but also less frustrating to the patients. The patients do not like situations where they are subjected to the same procedures several times (Mayers & Schoech, 2004). It gets even more frustrating in cases where the initial processes involve taking blood samples from the patent.
Evaluation of the plan’s effectiveness
My new strategies for introducing a digitized integrated communication system will eliminate the obstacles mentioned above that interfere with the clients’ ability to access services at different agencies. As the administrator, I will have the relevant knowledge needed for the patients to have the services they need. Once a patient has visited one of the agencies, and a background check has been conducted, this information will be available in the database for future use. My clients will be able to visit any of the agencies without following the frustrating procedures, some of which limit their ability to get services from some of the providers. I will personally be able to determine the agencies with the capacity to offer quality services in this community. For this reason, I will be in a better position to refer my clients to better agencies whenever they need a specific service. Through this new strategy, I hope to win the trust of my major funder that recently terminated our relationship.
This plan will also help other agencies besides our institution. As stated in the discussion, the new plan will facilitate the sharing of important findings of the research. In fact, it will facilitate inter-agency based research. This means many of these agencies will be able to share information about social and health problems that affect the members of the society in various ways. This makes it easy for these agencies to come up with a common approach that can be used in different contexts to address these problems. It will also promote close corporation among the agencies in addressing different problems within this community. The ultimate winner in such contexts will be the members of our community who will be entitled to improved health care services.
References
Feit, M. D. & Li, P. (2008). Financial management in human services. New York: Haworth Press. Web.
Kettner, P. M. (2002). Achieving excellence in the management of human service organizations. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Web.
Lewis, J. A. & Lewis, M. D. (2012). Management of human service programs. Belmont: Thomson Brooks. Web.
Mayers, R. & Schoech, D. (2004). Dilemmas in human services management: Illustrative case studies. New York: Springer Pub. Co. Web.
Slavin, S. (2005). Social administration: The management of the social services. New York: Haworth Press. Web.