Protocols for administering it to consumers are still fluid, with the right combination of mailing and telephone outreach that works best with consumers still to be determined. To build a leaner tool, designers will field-test it. More than a half a dozen member companies of the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Assn. will put ECHO through its paces later this year, as well as some state agencies and health care coalitions. A pre-field test trial is already underway at Alliance Behavioral Care in Cincinnati. ECHO's future will likely include an appearance in the National Committee for Quality Assurance's managed behavioral health accreditation program.
ECHO arrives in an industry already saturated with consumer survey instruments, however.
Most managed behavioral health firms already use dozens of homegrown assessment tools or surveys contractually mandated by purchasers. Nonetheless, proponents hope ECHO will become a standard survey for the entire industry, allowing comparison across companies, while allowing behavioral health firms and purchasers to customize ECHO core elements with additional questions. Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with Permission. This file has been provided for MCOL members only and may not be forwarded, redistributed, copied or published in any medium.