Everyone wants outcomes. Employers and payors want them to see if the money they’re paying for behavioral health treatment results in client improvement. Organizations want them to look at the quality of the work they do and to satisfy those payors. And the professional, the clinician wants to ensure they do good work, not only because it is personally satisfying because it brings job security.
But how does an agency measure outcomes? An outcome is merely one measure of quality for an agency and a client. Choosing the right outcome measure makes a difference, yet different sources have different types of outcomes, which makes it difficult to please them. What is the best way to do so?
Here two examples of outcomes used by behavioral health organizations:
1. Quantity-based outcomes tell an agency how their client is doing compared to a standardized testing instrument. Because these measurements are validated and found reliable over years of testing, they have a high degree of confidence in predicting results. The CANS, PTSD-RI, Pediatric Symptom Checklist, and others offer this way of showing how a client does in improving their functioning. However, it still only looks at the behaviors based on how someone else measures them. Most measurement tests are conducted by a professional, a parent, or another third party who gives their subjective (and hopefully accurate) view of how a client does over some time. Yet it has its limitations due to the possibly slanted perspective.
2. Action-based outcomes. If a youth is told to clean their room, how they respond to the situation shows the behavior exhibited. If they don’t talk about their feelings when they argue with others, the youth demonstrates their problems with communication. These behaviors and functioning are outcome measures that test real behaviors. Unlike the other measurements above, which can be qualitative (or based on opinion), action-based outcomes are quantitative. A youth who hits the wall five times per day tells the clinician the frequency of the behavior, but not the trigger or cause of the behavior. When asking the youth about vignettes or situations that require action, the youth provides data about the situations and how they respond.
Reducing behavior is more about helping the youth manage their stress, their communication skills, and their self-regulation. Learning more about how they handle themselves in real-life situations, which provide quality information, leads to improved outcomes.
Apogee, Praxes’ treatment intervention platform, generates interventions that lead to positive behaviors and quantifiable outcomes.
For more information on a free trial for Apogee, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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