HIM 350 Module 7 Project Two Example

Project Two: Connected and Protected, a Communication Technology Plan for Sandstone Behavioral Health

[Student Name]

Southern New Hampshire University

HIM 350: Communication and Technologies

Project Two

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.

Project Two: Connected and Protected, a Communication Technology Plan for Sandstone Behavioral Health

Summary

Sandstone Behavioral Health's communication tools grew piece by piece, leaving clinical messages on personal phones, reminders that miss many clients and staff channels too slow for crisis work. This plan proposes seven changes over twelve months that keep the personal contact clients value while bringing it into secure, documented systems and widening access for clients with limited technology, literacy or English. First-year costs are about $118,000.

Change 1: Secure Texting for Case Managers

The agency will license a secure texting module that integrates with its record system and runs in an encrypted app on agency-managed phones issued to all 64 case managers. Clients enroll and set preferences. Messages save to the chart automatically, can be retained and audited and can be wiped remotely if a device is lost. Personal-phone texting with clients will end ninety days after launch.

Change 2: Two-Way Text Reminders

Robocalls will be replaced by two-way text reminders in English and Spanish, sent two days and one day before appointments, with a voice call option for clients without mobile phones. Guy et al. (2012) found in pooled trials that texted reminders raised the odds of attendance by about half. Reminder wording will name only "Sandstone" and the time, never the service, and substance use program reminders will carry no program reference.

Change 3: Secure Messaging for the Crisis Team

The mobile crisis team will use the same secure platform for team messaging, with pagers kept as backup where cellular service fails. In the Przybylo et al. (2014) trial, teams given a secure group chat judged it clearer and quicker than their pagers. Crisis messages that inform care will save to the chart, and the platform will queue messages offline until a signal returns.

Change 4: Easier Portal Enrollment

Clients will be able to enroll in the portal through a text link without an email address, and peer specialists will offer short walkthroughs at every clinic. The home screen will show the next appointment, messages and the crisis line. Kontos et al. (2014) found that online health tool use falls with income and education, so the plan measures enrollment by age, insurance and language and keeps phone and mail alternatives.

Change 5: Plain-Language Materials

The twenty most-used client handouts will be rewritten at a sixth- to eighth-grade reading level, tested with the peer advisory group and professionally translated into Spanish. Clinicians will be trained in teach-back. Weak health literacy carries measurable harm in Berkman et al. (2011), and many clients face added challenges from trauma or illness affecting attention and memory.

Change 6: Telehealth Documentation Fields

The telehealth note template will add required structured fields for modality, client location with city and state, consent status and technical problems, with modality selection choosing the correct template automatically. Remote mental health care was judged about as good as office care by Hilty et al. (2013), so video visits will continue; the fields make sure the record keeps pace.

Change 7: Social Media and Digital Communication Policy

A single written policy will cover texting, email, social media and substance use program communication. It will forbid confirming client status in public, require client contact to move to secure channels and define how consent under the updated federal substance use confidentiality rules applies to digital messages. McCarty et al. (2017) found confusion about those rules hampered coordination, so the policy will include plain examples.

Rollout Communication Plan

A change in how people communicate needs its own communication plan. Table 1 sets out audiences, key messages, channels and timing. Staff hear first, clients hear from people they trust and partners hear about new referral and reminder practices before they encounter them.

Table 1. Rollout Communication Plan

Note. Plan developed by the author with the clinical director.

Training

Case managers will receive two hours of hands-on training with the secure phones, including enrolling a practice client and saving a message to the chart. All staff will complete a 30-minute digital communication policy module with local scenarios. Peer specialists will train on portal walkthroughs. A super-user in each clinic will answer questions during the first month.

Budget

First-year costs total about $118,000: $52,000 for 64 agency-managed phones and service, $28,000 for the secure texting and reminder modules, $14,000 for plain-language rewriting and translation, $12,000 for staff training time, $8,000 for template and portal changes and $4,000 for signage and outreach materials. Expected offsets include fewer no-shows and less staff time spent on callbacks.

Timeline and Measures

Changes roll out between months one and nine, with evaluation in months ten to twelve. Table 2 lists key measures; each will be reported by age, insurance and language.

Table 2. Key Measures

Note. Baselines from the Project One audit and Module Two documentation audit.

Risks

Case managers may resist carrying a second phone, so the app will also be available in an encrypted container on personal phones for those who prefer it. Some clients may distrust new systems, so case managers will introduce them personally. Rural coverage gaps remain, so pagers and phone calls stay available. Budget pressure could delay phones; if so, the encrypted app container becomes the default.

Conclusion

This plan keeps what works in Sandstone's communication, the personal connection between staff and clients, and fixes what does not: unprotected messages, reminders that miss people, slow crisis coordination and incomplete telehealth records. Grounded in evidence, rolled out with its own communication plan and measured by client group, it can make the agency both more connected and more protective of the people it serves.

References

Berkman, N. D., Sheridan, S. L., Donahue, K. E., Halpern, D. J., & Crotty, K. (2011). Low health literacy and health outcomes: An updated systematic review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 155(2), 97-107. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005

Guy, R., Hocking, J., Wand, H., Stott, S., Ali, H., & Kaldor, J. (2012). How effective are short message service reminders at increasing clinic attendance? A meta-analysis and systematic review. Health Services Research, 47(2), 614-632. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01342.x

Hilty, D. M., Ferrer, D. C., Parish, M. B., Johnston, B., Callahan, E. J., & Yellowlees, P. M. (2013). The effectiveness of telemental health: A 2013 review. Telemedicine and e-Health, 19(6), 444-454. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2013.0075

Kontos, E., Blake, K. D., Chou, W.-Y. S., & Prestin, A. (2014). Predictors of eHealth usage: Insights on the digital divide from the Health Information National Trends Survey 2012. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(7), Article e172. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3117

McCarty, D., Rieckmann, T., Baker, R. L., & McConnell, K. J. (2017). The perceived impact of 42 CFR Part 2 on coordination and integration of care: A qualitative analysis. Psychiatric Services, 68(3), 245-249. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600138

Przybylo, J. A., Wang, A., Loftus, P., Evans, K. H., Chu, I., & Shieh, L. (2014). Smarter hospital communication: Secure smartphone text messaging improves provider satisfaction and perception of efficacy, workflow. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 9(9), 573-578. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhm.2228