Speak Out August 2013

Professional Practice News

Maintaining standards for assessment and reporting

S ome would say that communication and swallowing disorders and the subsequent reporting of findings, consistency of style is of upmost importance. Consumers, referring professionals, employers and third party funders require and deserve certainty that standard assessment protocols will be adhered to and that a written report will be provided that clearly and accurately reports assessment findings. I’m aware there are many of you out there who would admit that for various reasons you are being prevented from meeting best practice standards for assessment and report writing. Common reasons in the public sector include: • Limited or no funding to purchase all necessary assessment tools or to update tools; variety is the spice of life, but when it comes to assessing Pressure to spend less time than is necessary to complete an assessment; Pressure (or in one reported case it was a directive!) to not complete standardised assessments; Incomplete, out-dated or absent policies and procedures regarding the assessment and report writing standards for the service; Pared back assessment and report writing standards in an effort to reduce time and increase through-put. Now you would think that in the private sector things would be easier in some respects, because the private practitioner (PP) purchases their own • • • •

resources and develops their own policies and procedures. However, what seems to happen here is that PPs feel pressured to reduce the costs for either themselves or their client. I’ve actually had members who are setting up a private practice tell me that they aren’t going to do assessments because the assessment tools are too expensive and they can’t afford to purchase them! I’m not joking… I have actually heard this on more than one occasion. I’m sure you will all agree with me that if you are going into business then you are obliged to purchase all of the necessary equipment and tools to run that business, and in the case of a speech pathology practice that includes assessment tools. I also personally know the dilemma of trying to keep the cost down for a client and being tempted to squeeze an assessment into as short a session as possible, or avoid multiple sessions for an assessment and cater for the possibility of the client possibly not wanting a report if they know that they have to pay extra for it. We are beholden as members of the only profession qualified to assess and diagnose communication and swallowing disorders to set and maintain consistent best practice standards for the process of assessment and reporting. To assist our members to achieve that aim SPA has developed two documents: • A guideline for speech pathologists, and; • an information sheet for consumers. We urge you to put these standards into practice and, if you are meeting

resistance, to let us know so that we can support you to effect change. One situation we are hoping in particular to prevent is when you are asked to change or omit information in a report. Being clear on what should be included in a report and the legal entity of a report once it is published may help resolve or avoid this situation. Oh, and I thought it might be helpful if I shared with you some of the frequent complaints we receive from consumers about reports (that way you can make sure you don’t get caught out in the same way). Complaints received include: • having to wait an unreasonable amount of time to receive the report (six months is not unheard of); • not being aware that there is a charge for the report; • querying the amount of information contained in the report compared to the cost, and; inaccuracies in the report including the client’s name being incorrect, the wrong pronoun being used throughout the report or background information being inaccurate. management and feel free to provide the information sheet to clients too. Together we can work to set and maintain appropriate standards for assessment procedures and reporting writing. Christine Lyons Senior Advisor Professional Practice • Please share the information in the guideline with colleagues and

Since writing this article, DisabilityCare has been launched and it has become clear that the participant centred planning (PCP) process and the fee schedule provided under this scheme may require us as a profession to carefully consider the need, purpose and content of reports. A greater emphasis on outcomes may require us to provide less detail about the assessment process and more detail about the recommended plan for therapy/support and the focus on patient centred care will necessitate considering the use of inclusive language (for example Easy English). We may also need to be prepared to advocate for ourselves if, for example, a plan requests an assessment and report but does not have enough time allocated for this. We will certainly keep you updated as we learn more about the practicalities of DisabilityCare (and of course continue to liaise with DisabilityCare regarding issues and concerns). In the meantime you can have input into the discussion through our Disability Member Community. Jemma Skeat Christine Lyons National Advisor Research & Policy Senior Advisor Professional Practice

Speak Out August 2013

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