One of our primary objectives over the last couple of years in behavioral health has been to shift the focus of our performance measures away from process and procedures toward actual outcomes. In other words, we don’t want to measure our success on whether someone’s paperwork is right, but on whether the services we provide actually help folks achieve their recovery goals. That’s why it’s so exciting to see the system continue to develop easy-to-use behavioral health outcomes dashboards as a new performance tool and to inform consumer choice.
Outcome Dashboards are like a scorecard- allowing users to review performance and outcomes information (employment, housing, staying out of crisis centers, abstaining from substance abuse, avoiding arrests, etc.) at the statewide level, as well as by region of the state and separately for adults and children. Links are also included so the user can then visit dashboards developed by each Regional Behavioral Health Authority, where provider-level performance can be reviewed.
By working closely with our behavioral health contractors we’ve been able to make some significant improvements in the quality of care that we’re providing. Examples of our accomplishments are available in outcome dashboards developed by CPSA, NARBHA, Cenpatico and Magellan. The dashboards provide monthly reports using web-based tools, are accessible to anyone and highlight indicators of quality of care for recipients and their families that they can use for consumer choice.
A couple of weeks ago Magellan Health Services of Arizona launched a new adult general mental health and substance abuse provider outcomes dashboard. This new dashboard provides important performance information throughout the system of care- and is a significant enhancement of the outcome dashboard that they created for adults and kids with serious mental illnesses. The new dashboard for general mental health and substance abuse contains 14 key indicators under the following four outcomes areas: clinical, coordination, recovery and accountability. The dashboard can be reviewed from various perspectives. Check out Magellan’s new general mental health and substance abuse dashboard at www.MagellanofAZ.com/Dashboards.
