Transcript HMIS and PATH

Wilder
Research
HMIS and PATH
March 2014
Webinar focus
 Some basic review
 Updates to data entry
 Interim PATH report
 Future Plans
 Time for questions
Webinar basics
 Questions:
– We will have a section at the end for questions
• If you have called in, you will be on mute. We will un-mute at
breaks for questions.
– Questions can also be asked using the bar on the
right side of your webinar screen at any time
• Enter questions you have during the training session. You
may get a direct response or we may review some questions
with the entire group.
• We will also take questions this way during the official
question time for people only using their computer.
Funder persepective
 We are in a time of change with PATH reporting
– Roll out of HMIS with PATH starting nationwide
– Changing report
– New HMIS data standards
Data entry forms
 Update data entry forms emailed to you
 We have one more version to send you
 Use as needed to collect information
– Word documents so they can be modified to add
additional questions as needed, etc.
 We will email new forms, instructions, and
recorded webinar this week
HMIS consent forms
 All clients should be given the HMIS consent
form to sign before their data can be entered in
the system
– If clients refuse, their information can be entered as
“anonymous” using a special button upon initial data
entry
– Make sure to record the client ID number so you can
look up the client later
– You can use the “alias” field to record agency ID
numbers or other non-identifying information to help
link the record to a client
Data Entry
 PATH programs work a bit differently from other
homeless programs using HMIS and the data
collection process reflects this
– Outreach to clients happens first and is recorded at
that time
– Once client is formally enrolled in program, additional
data entry is needed
• We are seeing many clients with outreach and enrollment on
the same date. Is this correct?
Data Entry
 Best practice is to frequently enter data:
– Make sure all clients served as of January 1st are
entered in ServicePoint
– Record all current clients within the first few weeks
– New clients: Best practice is to enter new clients
weekly
– Weekly - enter program enrollments, update new
information collected on clients, record services and
referrals
Tracking initial client contact/outreach
 All clients who receive outreach should be
entered in the system for reporting
 Include household members as appropriate
– Client is focus of report, but the other household
information is useful for state-level reporting. May be
recorded when formally enrolled.
 PATH required data elements are required at
date of first contact (changes in these questions)
Outreach data entry steps
1. Back date to date of first contact
2. Enter/look up client record
3. Complete PATH Assessment (in Assessment
section)
4. Record outreach service provided on date of
first outreach on Service Transaction tab
Outreach Data Entry: Backdate
 Using Backdate will correctly and easily link all
dates used in the system to first date of service
– If service and assessment dates don’t match, report
will not be correct
– Since back date automatically re-sets dates to the
same one, it saves data entry time
– For new clients: Don’t enter client demographics until
you are in back date mode
• Unlike other HMIS reports, these will not all pull correctly on
report if entered in “live mode”
• Best practice: backdate in bar at top of screen, then search
for client
Outreach data entry: assessment
 Two sections need to be completed at first
contact:
– PATH Questions
• PATH Questions: Client demographics are first questions.
Unlike other HMIS programs, you complete them in the
assessment.
• You may choose to complete the demographics in the initial
client search process
• If the client was served previously and is already in
ServicePoint you don’t need to re-enter the information
– First Contact or Re-entry Only section (changes)
Outreach data entry: assessment changes
 Additional questions about homeless status,
living situation before entry, and disability
– Housing Status
• Moved up to enter at outreach; replaces “Is Client Homeless
by HUD Definition”
– Still required for all clients served, but complete at
enrollment for other family members
• Response must be one of these three to pull client onto
report:
– Literally homeless, imminently loosing their housing, or
unstably housed and at-risk of losing their housing
Outreach data entry: assessment changes
 Living situation last night:
– Moved up to enter at outreach
– Now included on PATH report
– Follow-up question “Length of Stay” also moved up
for data collection consistency, but isn’t included on
PATH report at this time
Disability changes
 Disability of Long-duration
• Moved up to enter at outreach;
• Still required for all clients served, but complete at enrollment
for other family members
• Answer must be Yes for clients served by PATH or will cause
problems with report
 Disability sub-assessment
• Replaces PATH specific mental illness and substance use
questions
• Mental Health Problem now used to trigger clients getting
pulled into report
• You will need to transfer data from old questions to new for
clients previously served
Disability sub-assessment
 Can add multiple disabilities
– Click “add” button to start
 Start date should be on or before the outreach
date
 Select Disability Type
– Some options have (HUD 40118) after the term. This
indicates a HUD approved term and are the primary
options
– State of MN has added some other options which can
be used if helpful for your program
Disability sub-assessment cont.
 Disability type and PATH report
– Mental Illness: Select Mental Health Problem.
Record for all clients since it is a program requirement
• The information isn’t counted on the report, but if it isn’t
completed or is entered incorrectly, a client will not show up
on the PATH report.
– Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, or Both Alcohol and Drug
abuse need to be selected for Co-occurring Disorder
Count
Disability sub-assessment cont.
 Disability Determination: indicates if
documentation obtained for certain types of
disabilities (HUD data requirement)
– Documentation not required for Alcohol Abuse, Drug
Abuse, or if both option is selected
• Answer will be yes for these options
– If you record disabilities such as Physical,
Developmental, Mental Health Problems, Chronic
Health Conditions documentation is needed
• Record “no” if you don’t have documentation. Can change to
“yes” later if you obtain.
Disability sub-assessment cont.
 Condition is long-term with substantial impact?
– Need to complete this or “disability of long duration”
=yes for indicating clients have a long-term mental
health problem so they are pulled into report
 Optional question:
– (If yes) Currently receiving services or treatment?
 End date: don’t need to use
– End date indicates disability ended, which isn’t very
likely and may cause disabilities to be excluded from
reports
PATH Assessment: record client contacts
 Outreach sub-assessment
– Record each client contact before program enrollment
– In sub-assessment: Record first contact information
and all additional contacts made with client before
program enrollment
– Date fields on sub-assessment should all match date
of contact and record location
Changes in PATH questions
 PATH specific questions still in use:
– Length of time outdoors or in short term shelter: Enter
response if client “Literally Homeless” in Housing
Status Question
– Is client Ineligible for PATH enrollment? (Yes if
ineligible)
 Remainder of PATH specific questions are no
longer used in report
– Is Client Homeless by HUD’s definition, How was
client contacted, PATH Housing Status, Has cooccurring substance use disorders? Principal Mental
Illness Diagnosis, PATH Enrollment ineligible reason
Changes in PATH Questions
 We will keep all old questions in the system
during change process
 Clients entered before change
– Use old questions to update new questions. Make
sure to back date new questions to original first
contact date
 New clients
– Enter only new questions
 Please give us feedback/suggestions to help
make this easier for you
PATH Assessment: First Contact or Re-Entry
 Save before moving on
– You will get a reminder to complete questions in the
next section of the assessment
– If is ok to skip these questions and wait to record
them (we will cover later)
Record service associated with initial contact
 Initial service should be Outreach Programs or
Street Outreach Programs
 Use Multiple Services Button
– Even if you only are recording this one service, this
section makes data entry easier
Program Enrollment Data Entry
 Additional data entry required at this stage so
client pulls up on all sections of the report
 Can all be completed in one step: the Entry/Exit
tab
– Note: back date is not needed as this section
automatically links entry date selected with additional
assessment questions
 No new or removed questions currently
– Some questions now asked earlier for PATH clients
than other household members
Program Enrollment data entry
In the Entry/Exit Tab:
 Click “add entry/exit”
 Select other family members as needed
 New box will pop-up. Then select PATH
program in “Provider.”
– Type= PATH
– Entry date=enrollment date (could be first contact)
– Review PATH questions to make sure they are
completed (if not, match to initial service start date)
– Complete the other questions in this section
Services after enrollment
 Using the specific list of PATH services is
important
– If you think need to record additional terms, please
contact Wilder
 Record each time you interact with client for
services
– Multiple Services: enter records for a particular client
– SkanPoint: enter a service provided on a specific date
to a group of clients
Multiple Services
 Can record just one service received or multiple
services for the same client
– You can enter different services and different dates
received for the same client
SkanPoint
 Use to record a number of clients receiving the
same service on the same day/date range
 Select SkanPoint on bar on left
– Use Provide Service tab and select service term plus
dates served
– Make list of clients that received service by client ID
• Can save list or pick new list each time
• Push Start Skan to enter new list
• Use Manage Client Lists tab at top to create a list or modify
an existing list
– Then push “Choose Clients from List”
Referrals
 Using the specific list of PATH referrals is
important
 Record each referral made to another provider
– If you refer one client to a number of providers for
supportive housing, you would record each referral
separately
• You may have duplicate referrals recorded and this will be
correct
– If you refer a client to a provider to help them find the
best supportive housing option, that is one referral
Referrals
 PATH providers must record referrals made to
another agency for client services.
 Add from the Service Transactions Tab
 All referrals are made to “Agency PATH
Referrals”; a new provider set up in your agency.
Referrals
Referral Service Options: let Wilder know if you think you need additional or
fewer options.

Mental health support services

Housing Placement Assistance

Mental health drop in centers

Housing search and Information

Mental health and substance abuse
services

Supportive housing
placement/referral

Substance abuse services

Basic income maintenance

Health care


Health support services
Homeless financial assistance
programs

Employment Assistance

Medical Assistance /Medicaid

Job training formats

Education

Educational programs
Referrals
Steps to record a referral:
1. Click on Service Transactions Tab
2. Click “Add Referrals”
3. In the Service Code Quicklist, highlight (by clicking) the
needs for which you are referring. To add multiple needs,
Ctrl+Click
4. Click “Add Terms”. Selected needs will display at the
bottom of the page.
5. Use the Referral Provider Quicklist to select the Agency
PATH Referrals provider. Then click “Add Provider”.
Referrals
Steps to record a referral (continued):
1. Complete the Referral Data section by selecting a date.
No Projected Follow Up date or User is needed.
2. In the Referrals section, click the boxes to select which
referrals you want to make. Each checked box is recorded
as one referral.
•
Check your PATH report to make sure all referrals are appearing.
3. Click “Save ALL” at the bottom of the page to record the
referral on the client’s record.
4. The list of referrals made will now display on the referrals
tab.
Exiting Client
 Once the client has completed service with you,
return to the entry/exit
– Record exit date and Destination
 End any open services/referrals
 Program exit may not always be clear
– Consult with Gary as needed
– We may come up with helpful rules as time goes on
Reporting
 HMIS data will be used to provide much of the
information on the report you submit to DHS, but
not all
 PATH is in a reporting transition
– HMIS data standards changing soon and may impact
data collection or reporting
• More info to come
 State report process may change as well as
federal requirements evolve
Running reports
 Two reports are required through HMIS
– PATH report in ServicePoint (updated)
– MN report through ART (still the same)
 Best practice: update data and run reports
monthly to make sure data entry is correct and
up to date
PATH Report in ServicePoint
 Based on federal requirements
 Find by clicking on Reports bar on the left side of
the Service Point screen (same location)
– Reports section has slightly different rules than ARTbased reports
– Updates happen in real time
– No separate data check report at this time matching
PATH report in ServicePoint. Click on numbers in blue
to see the list of clients who make up that number
Running the PATH Report
 Skip “reporting groups”
 Select your program in the “Provider” section
 Select “this provider only” in the toggle
 Operating Year Date Range will be the actual
start and end of the report period
 Click “build report”
 Print out report using “Print” button near top after
report is run
Report rules
 Two main groupings for clients included in
questions:
– Active
– Eligible
PATH Active Clients
 Clients are included in some sections of reports
if they are “active”
– Have an outreach services or program entry in report
period
– Active clients might not be enrolled or eligible clients
and are often counted separately
• Report uses this to look at either everyone served or those
not yet enrolled in PATH
PATH Report: Eligible clients
 All clients must have “mental health problem”
selected in the disability sub-assessment plus
disability of long-duration= yes OR expected to
be of long and continued duration=yes (in subassessment)
 Housing status must also be answered with
literally homeless, imminently losing their
housing, or unstably housed and at-risk of losing
their housing
 Project entry is on or before report start date
 Replaces “ineligible” question
PATH specific questions
 “Length of time outdoors or in short-term
housing” is still required
– Many PATH specific questions were used in the prior
version of the report to pull clients into the right
categories. This is no longer the case.
– If you don’t make updates to new questions correctly,
the clients won’t pull into the new report.
 “Is client Ineligible for PATH Enrollment?”
– Also still used in questions 4 and 4a.
– Mark “yes” if ineligible
Counting Contacts
 Currently report uses Outreach Services and
Entry/Exit to count contacts
– You should have both recorded, so there will be at
least 2 contacts for each client
– Outreach sub-assessment isn’t currently used, but will
be in the next version of the report available by time
report is due next January
Co-occurring disorders
 Co-occurring disorders question is used
currently if disability sub-assessment is blank
– Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse are selected together or
Both Drug and Alcohol Abuse is selected
– Best practice is to complete disability subassessment, especially for all new clients
PATH report: services & referrals
 Correct terms for clients are key to making sure
clients show up in the pre-set categories
– There is a set list of services that match the reporting
categories
– Only use these services or the report will not be
correct
• Otherwise services show up as “other”
PATH report: services & referrals
 Counts only for eligible clients:
– Counts both number of times provided and overall
number of persons receiving
– Any terms that doesn’t match specifics lists show up
as “other”
Client Filter Section
 Enter specific client ID(s) to highlight sections
with responses specific to certain client(s)
 Helps with data quality
Saving report in Chrome only
 Can save report as PDF
 Select Print from Chrome
– Change destination to “Save as PDF”
– Select location to save on your computer
 When printing, you will need to go back and
change option back to your printer
 In Firefox you can save the entire web page, or
print out the report
State of MN Report
 Run report in ART in PATH folder
 Both data check with client level information and
summary reports with counts only are available
– Run both to verify data is correct
 Have to wait for data to upload from
ServicePoint to reporting tool (ART)
 Save the summary report to your computer as
PDF and send to the state
State of MN Report
 Covers Universal data elements to provide
additional information to state funder
 Format is the state format used by most MN
funders
 Includes clients enrolled in the program (has an
entry/exit)
Ongoing Planning
 Making better use of ServicePoint: how can this
benefit you beyond reporting
 Supporting data quality
– Processes to confirm your data is ready for reporting
from HIMS for next year’s reports
 Next version of PATH report coming later in the
year
Funder questions
HMIS Questions
Resources
 Contact the HMIS helpdesk with questions:
– [email protected]
– 651-280-2780 or 1-855-280-2780
– Any staff can help, although Laura McLain and Teresa
Howard most familiar. Some questions may be
passed on to us
– We get back to people usually within 24 hours
 Web site with instructions:
http://www.hmismn.org/
Resources
 Recorded Webinars:
– Access through System News section of ServicePoint
• Includes this webinar, report running, other funding sources
you may have
• Let us know what webinars you would find useful to help us
in our planning
Wilder PATH main contacts
 Laura McLain: HMIS Project Manager
– [email protected]
– 651-280-2671
– Feedback, overall HMIS questions or concerns
– User support
 Teresa Howard
– [email protected]
– 651-280-2761
– User support, program set-ups