Spotlight on a User: Beyond mandated reports
RADIAS Health, previously known as South Metro Human Services, is an integrated healthcare experience serving the well-being of the whole person. Through primary care, behavioral health, pharmacy services, residential treatment and supportive housing throughout the metro area, they provide a continuum of care for all. RADIAS Health has programs providing case management, Assertive Community Treatment, and housing support. Additionally, they have an Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS) program and numerous Residential Support Services homes.
They have four programs that provide outreach, in some capacity, to people experiencing homelessness. All programs are located in the seven-county St. Paul - Minneapolis area. RADIAS Health is also an agency that uses HMIS formandated reporting, but they go beyond that basic HMIS function and use HMIS asa tool for understanding their participants.
Management staff use data from HMIS to examine demographic trends. This gives them a better sense of whom they are serving. They also use the data to determine the effectiveness ofthe work they do by examining the quality of services. Information is pulled from various reports to determine if there are disparities in how services are provided and, if there are, how those disparities can be addressed.
RADIAS staff make use of case noting in HMIS to improve the work with participants as well. HMIS allows for collaboration amongst the multiple programs and other providers inthe Metro. RADIAS staff periodically use the system to get a sense of thenature of the most recent service a teammate provided to an individual served. This allows for a strong continuity of care for clients and a sense of effectiveness for staff.
Jodi Harder, one of the RADIAS staff, describes how using HMIS data can impact the lives of participants. "Sometimes knowing where a person has stayed the previous night allows for us to find them at a local shelter. We've also been able to support people in returning to a shelter situation if, for some reason,they've been asked to refrain from shelter use." In addition, she describes how HMIS can support the process of verifying homelessness and supporting people when applying for permanent housing subsidies.
RADIAS Health also focuses on data quality. Using the data is important, but the data should be quality data. To get the data they need, the supervisor runs regular reports to ensure that data is entered correctly and staff maintain a schedule for entering information. Data entry is made easier by the fact that staff have mobile devices for that purpose.
While there are always ways to adjust methods and change practices, RADIAS Health has found away to get data into HMIS that they can really use for the benefit of the individuals and families whom they serve.