Standard and Guidelines

for Outcome Evaluation

Standard

The individual consumer and family of African descent must be assured comprehensive and competent treatment and care as they interface with the managed care mental health system. The managed mental health plan must have a regular quality monitoring and improvement program with clear and culturally appropriate indicators applicable to evaluating services to the consumer, family, and community of African descent.

Implementation Guidelines

1. Outcome evaluation of services provided to consumers of African descent must include a mutually agreed upon signed contract between the consumer and provider stating expected outcomes of treatment and accomplishment of those outcomes.
   
   

2. Outcome evaluation of services to consumers of African descent must include a wide array of treatment demographics in order to develop reliable culturally specific outcome studies.
   
   

3. Development of instruments to evaluate outcome of services to consumers to African descent must include focus groups, with representation from all stakeholders. The goal of outcome evaluation is improvement in overall health status, quality of life, reduction in symptoms, and increase in functioning.
   
   

4. Quality improvement teams must include consumers of African descent and culturally competent mental health specialists who review data from quality indicators related to consumers of African descent and other populations of color. If deficiencies are discovered in the quality of care delivered, corrective actions and other monitoring processes must be identified, implemented, and evaluated to assure compliance and quality.
   
   

5. Consumer satisfaction will be conducted in personal, written, or telephone surveys.
   
   

6. Outcome evaluation of services to consumers of African descent must have the analysis of data done by culturally competent analysts.
   
   

7. Outcome evaluation of services to consumers of African descent must include face to face quality reviews conducted by consumers and families of color. Models of this kind of consumer involvement in quality reviews can be found in the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, & Colorado.
   
   

8. Outcome evaluation of services to consumers of African descent must be longitudinal in orientation to ensure long range trends that could result in improvements and opportunities are noted.

Next

Table of Contents

For more information email MentalHealth@wiche.edu
<< to WICHE Mental Health