Tool of the trade.New data will let adult day track outcomes THE WAY RICK ZAWADSKI SEES IT, IF there's no way to measure how you re doing as an adult day provider, there's no way you're going to improve your services. That's why this 25-year veteran of the adult day field spearheaded the launch of the ADS Data Set, a computerized computerized adapted for analysis, storage and retrieval on a computer. computerized axial tomography see computed tomography. assessment tool designed to provide a way for adult day providers to track outcomes and share information. "By letting providers know how well they're doing, you create an environment where they're going to do better," says Zawadski, a senior partner with RTZ RTZ Rio Tinto Zinc RTZ Return To Zero RTZ Return to Zork (game) RTZ Retail Trade Zone Associates, an Oakland, California-based long term care research and systems development group. The ADS Data Set was launched in July as a pilot project at 17 adult day centers in Alameda County, California Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 1,443,741 making it the 7th largest county in the state. The county seat is Oakland. . The project is supported by a four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health's Small Business Innovation and Research program. To create the tool, Zawadski named a national advisory panel that included members of the National Adult Day Services Association and CARF...The Rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. Accreditation accreditation, n a process of formal recognition of a school or institution attesting to the required ability and performance in an area of education, training, or practice. Commission. Data fields are tailored to adult day providers. For instance, one data field tracks a client's living situation and informal support. Providers can record their data either in a computerized software program or on paper. From these, RTZ creates a common data set that compares how adult day health centers are helping clients with different needs. The firm periodically sends each center a confidential report of their outcomes, which they can compare with those of other centers. Another goal is to enable providers and others to share the collected outcome data on-line. Lydia Missaelides, executive director of the Sacramento-based California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Association for Adult Day Services, predicts the effort will help spread the word about adult day's role in long term care. "There's a lot we can do from this project that will educate the public and other folks about the value and cost-effectiveness cost-effectiveness pertaining to cost-effective. cost-effectiveness analysis a comparison of the relative cost-efficiencies of two or more ways of performing a task or achieving an objective. of adult day," she says. The ADS Data Set costs $5,900 for a multi-user system and $3,500 for a single-user system. It can also be leased for $200 to $300 per month. |
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