This is a bit technical, so for this you’ll need to fasten your seatbelts; but it is a chance to get your hands dirty, and to dig through our data, and to have your say. As we have said, one of the cornerstones of the UTP project is our iterative methodology, by which we talk to LTSS providers (as well as patients and caregivers) to learn what are the important activities on which we should focus, and what are the patient/client data behind these activities that must be transmitted from one provider to another to maximize quality and efficiency of care.

After a first round of interviews we have arranged what we have heard in a series of tabs in a master UTP work-in-progress spreadsheet. We invite you to examine these sheets, and give us feedback. To comment, right click on any cell, be it activity, data element, or whatever.  We will update the spreadsheets based on your comments. Hopefully this will evolve the proposed UTP data elements to increasingly represent what providers actually need.

On the spreadsheet:

• Tab 1 is an overview.
• Tab 2 lists the activities that we heard were important.
• Tab 3 is a first draft of a detailed analysis of what Universal Transfer Protocol (UTP) data might look like for one of these activities, a Request for Service from a Service Provider (High Value Activity #6).
• Tab 4 is a first draft of a test instrument for a receiving agency to assess the adequacy of the information they are receiving at the time of a request for service. The dataset (and the test instrument) will iteratively be modified based on the results of these assessment cycles.
• Tab 5 is the beginning of a table showing which data elements support which high value activities. Our work over the long run will be to complete this grid and establish shared meaning for each element. This will not be a primary focus until later in the project, but we list it here as a preview of what is to come.  You are still invited to comment.

We welcome your feedback. Are these activities clear? Are they important to you or your organization? Are there others that are missing? Please comment to add clarity and fill in gaps. You can comment on an individual cell by right clicking in the cell, and then selecting “Insert comment.” You can also see others’ comments by mousing over any cell, and you can respond to a comment by clicking on it.

Your comments are anonymous. However, if you don’t mind telling us who you are please do: on your first comment, leave your name and organization, and on additional comments, you can just use your initials.

And of course you can leave your more general comments below.