The Program on Ohio's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today - Report Example

Evaluation Study of the Program on Ohio's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today Introduction Based on the information from the Catholic Services for the Miami Valley (2007), “the PASSPORT refers to the Pre-admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today” (Ohio Department of MR/DD WDS Glossary, 2007). This is an elderly nursing program financed by the Medicaid. This program gives custody and attention services to help the elderly, or those beyond sixty years old in upholding their freedom. Elderly people who feel that they are at danger of caregiving house residency can usually stay in the shelter of their real homes with the services of the PASSPORT program. Included in the services given by the PASSPORT program are “special care support, meals delivered at the respective homes of the elderly, homemaking, crisis reaction schemes, provision of therapeutic or remedial equipment at the homes of the elderly, adult day care, small modification at the house of the elderly, medical transportation, counseling by social workers and house errand support services” (Catholic Services for the Miami Valley, 2007, http://www.cssmv.org/northern2.htm). Through the program, an evaluation service without any cost involve can be successfully provided for any elderly who shows interest in caregiving services in their shelter regardless of program eligibility. The importance of evaluating the Ohio, United States of America's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today (PASSPORT) is critical in the determination of the efficiency of the program in terms of making available cost-effective services as an alternative to facility-based long-term care. PASSPORT is the “Medicaid waiver system for the elderly under the age bracket sixty years old and above who needs home care (http://www.ohioaging.org/pdf_files/PASSPORT_Pre-Admission.pdf). This assessment is given in such a way that the program with the assurances Ohio submitted to the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is complied. The evaluation question is: “Does PASSPORT keep elder Ohioans functioning independently longer?” This is the specific question that needs to be answered and focused on in this study. The issue underlying the evaluation of this type of program focuses on the measurement of the effectiveness of the PASSPORT according to the satisfactory degree of presentation for a program like the PASSPORT. It is probable that performance standards differ in terms of the degree of differences in the design of the program. These standards should be of importance to the specific program under assessment. This would involve determining the factors that influence the degree of performance comparative to the standard and self-sufficient of the real processes of the institution (Oldsman, 2000). A more important issue is having a clear rationale for establishing particular performance standards. Oldsman (2000) advocates that there is a necessity for standards to be united with the primary objectives of the PASSPORT program. There is a need for organizations to reach equilibrium in numerous goals. It is important to be considerate of their monetary strength. Exert efforts to ensure that profits are enough to finance the organization’s total costs. It is also significant to make sure that inner procedures are effective. This will mean decreasing waste and at the same time grabbing the full benefit of obtainable assets. These initial two magnitudes of performance contract with inner matters. Even as outreach and efficiency address the core assignment of the institutions, this particular service provider has a particular community principle. That is, to provide services to as many customers in the intended population as they can, as well as, and assist to enhance their competitiveness, at the same time intensifying the general market (Oldsman, 2000). Background The program on the Ohio, United States of America's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today (PASSPORT) is about provision of support service in terms of pre-admission screening system for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Ohio, U.S.A. The PASSPORT program helps the elderly and their respective families with long-standing options. This program also equips qualified elderly to stay at their respective dwelling home and in the society (http://www.ohioaging.org/pdf_files/PASSPORT_Pre-Admission.pdf). Previous evaluation on this program was done by Ciferri, et al. (2003). Based on their evaluation study, they found that the PASSPORT home care that with case management services provided by the local Area Agency on Aging, PASSPORT home care provides needed community-based services in order for older adults to remain in their homes and communities. To seriously evaluate the said outcome, assess the outcome, PASSPORT assistance was shown to give varied and rigorous assistances which “include personal care, meals, adult day health, homemaker, emergency response, and medical equipment to assist an older adult living at home” (Just the facts: Area Agency on Aging, 2005). Major studies in the area conducted include the level of efficiency of the PASSPORT. The strength of this previous study is that data are available. As a result of this, outcome measures can be easily evaluated and interpreted. However, the weakness is that this previous study was conducted in a short period of time. Similar with the study conducted by Ciferri et al. (2003), this particular study on the “Evaluation Study of the Program on Ohio's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today” contributes to the available literature via additional input to the existing information on the impact of the system with regards to providing accessible low cost assistances as another option to hospital care and other services provided by institutions that provide facilities for health and medical care as well as the consistency of the declarations that Ohio forwarded to the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Measurement Outcome measures should be valid as well as reliable. “Reliability or consistency is said to refers to how regularly the examination can be repeated when administered on more than one occasion or by more than one rater while validity is the extent to which the measure measures what it intends to measure, that is, is it asking the right questions?” (Outcome Measures, 2007). Outcome measures is the difference from one point in time (before the introduction of the PASSPORT) to another point in time (following the introduction of the PASSPORT). The rationale of these outcome measures is that outcome measures determine change. The data gathered can be utilized to assess the influence of a program and provide information to the patient or provide information for persons or authority who needs the information. The intended consideration of other outcomes is that a “outcome measure has to be receptive to the scientific change that happens over a period” (Outcome Measures, 2007). Responsiveness is the aptitude of the measure to notice real alteration in clients' position over time (Binkley, 1999). Determine if it is responsive to the slight alterations clients’ make? On the other hand, the unintended consideration of other outcomes is that they can be used to implement outcome management or the management for results (McNamara). These measures in this study on the “Evaluation of the Ohio, United States of America's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today (PASSPORT)” are both practical and feasible. These measures are practical in the sense that they will entail low cost in the determination of efficiency. These measures are also feasible since databases are available. The essential feature of these measures is that they will entail comprehensive study that will generate credible results or outcomes. Design The proposed evaluation design will address the counterfactual and relevant control variables. Oldsman (2000) shares that “evaluations should provide credible evidence that PASSPORT program actually caused impacts. “Fixed parameters are control variables that define the given environment in which program managers attempt to maximize performance”, according to Oldsman (2000). These are the target population characteristics market characteristics as well as the program characteristics. To critically assess the strength of the proposed design with respect to internal and external validity, these will be addressed through measurement of the internal and external validity of the effectiveness of the program through Smith Statistical Package. An alternative explanation for the outcome rendered less plausible by the design is that focus of the design is on the conditions under which the program is believed to be effective and the negative side effects observed. Data The source of data to be used in the design is through collection of data from existing databases. The information to be obtained are consumer eligibility for PASSPORT, cost neutrality of PASSPORT, guarantee of the physical condition as well as the wellbeing of clients through condition of quality home and society-based services, assessment of the service plan development and fiscal accountability. Overall, the data gathered must answer the question “Does PASSPORT keep elder Ohioans functioning independently longer?” Important data can be gathered from several survey questionnaires. This could take in “What is the purpose of the program? If significant number of interviewee surveyed identified that the PASSPORT program is pre-admittance evaluation for treatment capability placement, or that pre-admission review informs nursing facility applicants of choices in long-term care service settings regardless of payment, then the program has significant impact on the clients. “Through the PASSPORT, the elderly are educated about long-term care options such as home and community-based services and assisted living” (Just the facts: Area Agency on Aging. 2005). In addition to discussing alternatives to nursing facilities, Aging staff also review applicants to Medicaid-specialized nursing facilities to make certain that the said facility is a suitable residency for clients with cerebral retardation or cerebral sickness. Another survey question where data can be gathered is in the question “What happens during an in-home assessment?” This kind of evaluation question allows the elderly and caregivers to ask inquiries and assess long-term care options with a trained professional. Another survey questionnaire: “What happens after the in-home assessment?” Depending upon the needs of the older adult and the eligibility criteria of specific programs, the older adult, the expert attending to this adult, circle of friends and family, and Area Agency on Aging staff work to determine the best long-term care option available. The above data and information will be obtained from the various institutions and stakeholders that conduct evaluation of the PASSPORT program. The sourcing of data is both practical and feasible since there are numerous information available from different resources. References Area Agency on Aging. 2005. ProSeniors. http://www.proseniors.org/PDFDocs/LTCFs/AAA.pdf. Ciferri, William B., Kunkel, Suzanne R., McGrew, Kathryn B. Mehdizadeh, Shahla A. and Straker, Jane K. (2003). Evaluation of Ohio's Pre-Admission Screening System Providing Options and Resources Today (PASSPORT). http://www.cas.muohio.edu/scripps/academic/Programs.html. McNamara, Carter. (2006). The Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation. National Resource Center e-Newsletter. National Resource Center. http://www.ccfbest.org/outcomemeasurements/. Ohio Aging Organization. http://www.ohioaging.org/pdf_files/PASSPORT_Pre-Admission.pdf. Ohio Department of MR/DD WDS Glossary. 2007. Ohio: The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. http://odmrdd.state.oh.us/apps/internet/WDS/WDS_Glossary.aspx. Oldsman, Eric. Evaluation as an Effective Management Tool. International Conference, April 3-6, 2000, Hanoi, Vietnam. Outcome measures. (2007). Effective Practice. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. http://www.csp.org.uk/director/effectivepractice/outcomemeasures.cfm Services for Northern Counties. (2007). Northern Counties. Ohio: Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley. http://www.cssmv.org/northern2.htm Read More