User Guide

Naming the team: Teams may have names in your health care setting, in which case you would use that name, e.g., New London Diabetes Team. If the team isn’t named , it is helpful to give a descriptive name that will communicate clearly to those you invite. Using clinic location, health condition, or your name in the title can be helpful, e.g., Dr. Brown’s Chronic Care Team at St. Johns.

Selecting the condition of focus: A drop-down menu allows you to select the disease-specific care you want team members to evaluate. If you select “other” the next line will allow you to specify a different condition. You may also add notes to your team if there are special instructions or considerations. For example, it is helpful to your team members if you specify a time period for their reflection, e.g., “think about our care over the past 3 months”, or “consider the time period since our last assessment when you rate the items.”

Naming the assessment: Plan ahead when you name the assessment. If you plan on repeating the assessment periodically to track changes over time, chose a naming sequence that makes the order clear. For example, you may name the first one Baseline, and subsequent ones Follow up 1, Follow up 2, etc. Or you could use dates or timeframes such as Fall 2008 Baseline, Spring 2009 Follow up, etc. The system will NOT let you use the same assessment name twice for this team and condition of focus. That keeps you from accidentally overwriting a previous assessment.

Establishing the due date: Enter the date by which all teams members are expected to have completed the assessment. After 11:59 pm on that date, none of the invitees will be able to submit assessments. As the Assessment Coordinator, you may change the date if needed. From “My Account”, click on the name of the assessment, which will take you to an “Assessment Information” page where you can click on “Edit Assessment” to change the date.

• Edit the assessment information
• Delete the assessment (discussed below)
• Complete your assessment and see “my assessment summary”
• View the roster of invitees and see who has accepted the invitation (“active”) and whether or not they have completed the assessment (indicated by the date completed)
• Invite other members
• See the “team assessment summary” (discussed below)
• Send reminder messages

There are three ways to send messages to your team members: 1) click “Email Team Members” to compose the text of an e-mail that goes to all invited team members, 2) click “Send Assessment Reminder” to the team to send an automated reminder to complete the assessment by the due date, and 3) click on a team member’s email address to send an individualized message to that person.

Three ways to send messages to your team members: 1) click “write and send a message” to compose the text of an e-mail that goes to all active members, 2) click “Send a standardized general reminder” to the team to complete the assessment by the due date, and 3) click on a team member’s name to send an individualized message to that person.

The Team Assessment Summary is a way to see at a glance the range of scores and the level of agreement on different aspects of self management support among the team. This form compiles team member ratings and computes simple means and standard deviations.

• Print the Team Assessment Summary in one of two formats: with team member names and role or without (anonymized). Copies can be provided to team members in preparation for team discussions.
• Download the Team Assessment Summary and save it on your computer.
• Attach the summary to an e-mail that may be sent to team members in preparation for team discussions or to appropriate administrators in your organization. Note: If you want to send summary without team member names, you can remove the names once the summary is downloaded.

1. Register and create a password
2. Open the assessment and read the instructions
3. Rate each characteristic using the 1 – 10 scale described in the instructions
   • Your rating should reflect the extent to which you think your team is accomplishing that aspect of self management support
   • If you are unsure or do not know, please give your best guess—or leave a question blank
   • Enter any comments or questions you have about that characteristic in the “My Notes” space provided.
   • Remember that each team member's perspective is unique and important. So, please complete the assessment individually before discussing with other members of the team.
4. Save your answers
   • If you are not able to complete the assessment all at once, click “Save and Exit” rather than “Continue” from any page. The system will automatically save your answers. To return later and complete the assessment: 1) log in, 2) go to “My Account”, 3) select the appropriate Assessment, and 4) click “Take the Assessment”. Your previous responses will appear and you can continue through the assessment.
   • Once you reach the end of the survey, click “Save and Exit,” which will save your answers and take you to your “Assessment Summary” page.
5. Edit your answers
   • Your scores are recorded on your “Assessment Summary” page. If you wish to edit an answer, click the appropriate number (or question mark if you left the score blank) in the “Score” column. That will take you back to the corresponding question in the assessment where you can make changes. Click “Save and Exit” to go back to your “Assessment Summary” page.
   • You may return to the site (see steps in #4 above) and make any modifications until the due date or until you click the “Submit” button.
6. Submit your answers
   • When you are ready, check “I have completed my assessment” at the bottom of your “Assessment Summary” page. Then click “Submit” in the Assessment Status Box which will send your results to the team’s assessment coordinator to be recorded on a team summary score sheet.
   • You may also print your own assessment summary and take it with you to team meetings in which the assessment will be discussed.

How can our team use the data?

The team leader or assessment coordinator will set up a meeting for the team to discuss the scores in order to initiate a quality improvement process. Of particular interest will be those items that were scored low by everyone as well as those items where there was a wide range in the scoring. Having each team member explain why they rated a particular item as they did will help everyone on the team understand the perspective of other team members. Items with either low scores overall or those with discrepant scores suggest that it would be beneficial to initiate a quality improvement process in these areas.

How often should we reassess?

Reassessments can be done at any time interval your team agrees on. Frequently, this survey is completed every 3 months, 6 months or at least every year.

Who can I contact if I have questions about the PCRS?

If you have been invited to take the assessment, first direct your questions to your Assessment Coordinator. If your question pertains to a particular item on the assessment, you also have the option of not scoring that item and bringing your question up for discussion at a team meeting. If you or the Assessment Coordinator still have questions, you can email diabetes@dom.wustl.edu.

What if there are functions on the site that do not work?

Please report any broken links or other problems with site function to the web developer.

Can I add resources to the “Resource” section?

Only the System Administrator can add resources; however, you can suggest additional resources by sending an e-mail to diabetes@dom.wustl.edu. Include the name of the resource, the web link and which of the 16 characteristics it supports.

What about confidentiality? Are my responses secure?

Washington University will not sell or rent to third parties the names, e-mail addresses or phone numbers provided through this website.

Who can see my information?

When you complete your assessment and click “submit,” the results go into a Team Summary Report that compiles all team member responses. This report is available to the Assessment Coordinator, who can save or print it to share with team members. The Assessment Coordinator has the option of printing team results with names attached to scores or with no names.

Can I transfer the role of Assessment Coordinator to another person?

Yes, you can transfer the coordinator role to another active member of the team. From the Team Information page, chose the active member and click the “transfer to” link. This generates an email to that person indicating the coordinator role for this team and associated assessments has been transferred to them. Upon transfer you will no longer have access to the team and the team assessments.

Can I delete or add team members in the event of staff changes?

You cannot delete members, but you can deactivate a member. From the Team Information page, click the “deactivate” link next to an active member’s name. The member will no longer have access to the team and any assessments associated with the team, although all their assessment data will remain. Their member status will change to inactive.

You can only delete invited team members who still have pending status, which is an indication that they have not yet participated in the assessment. To do this, click “remove” next to the person’s name on the Team Information page.

You can add members to the team by clicking “invite more” in the Team Member Assessment Status section of the Assessment Information page. Doing so generates an invitation to complete that assessment, so you will want to add them when you are administering an assessment.