The objectives of this project are to
- improve financial and operational performance of CAHs through evaluation of the impact of State Flex Program initiatives, and
- improve quality performance of CAHs through evaluation of participation in CAH quality improvement initiatives.
With input from FORHP as well as our Flex partner organizations, we will identify and conduct annual evaluation studies of key Flex Program initiatives with initial planning work and discussions taking place early in the initial funding year. The goal is to establish priority evaluation topics and develop a schedule to undertake priority topics within the FMT's current five year funding cycle (July 2018-June 2023). Our research staff will also work with FORHP to identify key data points that can be tracked annually to supplement existing PIMS metrics.
The first phase of this project will evaluate the impact of State Flex Program initiatives on CAH financial and operational performance. Results will provide guidance to FORHP and State Flex Program Coordinators about the types of interventions that could be selected to affect various types of performance. The goal is to identify, to the greatest extent possible, state initiatives that had the greatest impact on CAH performance.
The second phase of this project will assess the relationship of participation in Flex quality improvement interventions to CAH quality performance.