Information management for a rehabilitation client assistance program

American Rehabilitation, Spring, 1989 by Gary E. Holmes, Susan E. Tabor

Information Management for a rehabilitation client assistance program

Managing information in a client assistance program (CAP) follows the same general principles used in managing rehabilitation case records. These principles include accountability, documentation of needs and services, chronological case narratives, and support data for decisionmaking. In other respects, however, information management within a CAP differs because a CAP's mission in the rehabilitation services community is different. As it affects the rehabilitation client's life, CAP has the task of providing information about services, of helping to resolve conflicts as experienced by the client and, finally, of serving as an advocate for the client when conflicts cannot be resolved by the client without assistance.

CAP information management techniques are aimed at achieving these mission goals in a timely fashion so that rehabilitation efforts may continue with minimum disruption. Case information, as the basis for the CAP intervention decisions, is used to resolve issues to the client's satisfaction within the context of available rehabilitation resources, community resources, legal mandates, and agency policy. This context naturally includes consideration for the client's abilities, limitations, past history, and future goals during and beyond the rehabilitation program.

Gathering Information

Information management within the CAP, then, becomes a collection of methods and techniques that can be used to enhance the rehabilitation process by averting or solving problems arising within the service system. The proper management of such information does not require duplicating the case file, but instead requires the gathering of only that information related to the problem at hand. That is, managing information begin here with gathering data that clarifies the problem or conflict. That information usually includes: * the client's perception of the problem or the conflict; * the service provider's perception of the problem or conflict (usually from the counselor); * relevant policies, regulations and laws that might determine the outcome or resolution; * similar past CAP cases that might suggest the most appropriate intervention strategy; and * ways to help minimize other problems in the conflict aftermath period.

Quality and quantity of information influence management decisions and outcomes. This information helps the CAP accurately identify or define the issues central to the problem or conflict. From the moment a client requests assistance from the CAP, the management goal becomes one of gathering pertinent information in a form that can be used for intermediate decisions which collectively aid in solving the immediate problem or conflict. Information, if it is to be managed, must be in a form that can be used by the CAP in resolving the conflict. Otherwise, it is merely raw data, not information. So the gathering process includes an element of communication strategy as well. Information from the client needs to be as clear and concise as possible. This often has the added benefit of helping the client better understand the problem because he or she is asked to verbalize it or to write about it as a concrete concept.

This plain explanation of the problem from each client helps minimize needless information that, in time, could overwhelm the CAP's filing capacity. Only the essential information is of immediate value to the CAP in that it serves as the basis for time management decisions and for case strategy decisions. The client's perception of the problem, as expressed by the client, helps the CAP predict informational needs that must be collected from other sources. These subsequent needs, too, are shaped by both quality and quantity appropriate for CAP intervention decisions.

Time and Resources Decisions

When clear or essential information from any source arrives at the CAP in useable form, it makes initial conflict assessment easier. Physical management of the information typically involves or generates the following steps:

* Intake, recording and storage (opening CAP case file).

* Summarization and evaluation (CAP case notations; including previous client attempts at resolution).

* Conflict assessment notations (CAP service predictions).

* Identification of other informational needs (initial CAP actions).

* Strategy planning for resolution (for client and CAP).

* Information dissemination planning (to engage external resources for client and CAP; other agencies that might assist in resolving conflict).

These steps help the CAP to establish case and management priorities and to budget its time or resources according to case demands. Once the CAP identifies and acquires the exact information needed to assist the client, case planning becomes a matter of management by objective; the overall goal is achieved by satisfying intermediate objectives geared toward conflict resolution and client needs.

Information and Communication

Most CAP activities are characterized brief interventions, discussions of the problem and suggestions for alternative solutions to the parties involved in the conflict. This is so for several reasons, one of which is that CAP strives to find timely solutions that will neither hamper the rehabilitation process for the client nor erode the rapport between client and rehabilitation counselor or other service provider. As in the generalization that "form follows function," the information used by the CAP needs to be clear, accurate and as value-free as possible. This helps those involved in the conflict to see the problem from a mutual perspective arising from the sharing of objective information