Development, Usability Testing, and Effectiveness Evaluation of the Wraparou -
PROJECT SUMMARY
The purpose of this Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project is to complete development
and evaluate usability and effectiveness of the Wraparound Team Monitoring System (Wrap-TMS), a web-
based, electronic behavioral health information system (EBHIS) for the most widely implemented care
coordination model in children's behavioral health, the wraparound process. The wraparound process is the
only defined, research-based, individualized care coordination process for these children and youth and their
families. Wraparound is now implemented for over 100,000 youths annually in nearly 1,000 sites in the U.S.
However, despite increased emphasis in health care on use of health information technology to improve
efficiency, service quality, and accountability, to date no flexible, locally configurable EBHIS has been
developed for wraparound. Moreover, though wraparound is now considered "evidence-based,"
implementation in the real world often fails to conform to standards of fidelity and/or use objective data to guide
management, supervision, and clinical decision making. Availability of such a system will support efficiency,
implementation quality and fidelity, and outcomes for youths enrolled in wraparound. In our Phase I STTR
project, we successfully specified, developed, programmed, and established the feasibility, utility, reliability,
and commercialization potential of Wrap-TMS. Wrap-TMS now features functionality for data entry,
management, and basic reporting for the full array of data and information elements needed to manage an
integrated care coordination initiative for youths with serious emotional and behavioral disorder (SEBD). In light
of our success in Phase I, subsequent partnerships with federal agencies, and inquiries of interest from several
states and over 20 provider and managed care organizations, in this Phase II STTR we will: (1) Complete
revisions based on Phase I feedback, and expand the information management and reporting capacities of
Wrap-TMS, including "Drag and Drop" reporting, program-level aggregate reports, clinical alerts and treatment
recommendations from functional assessments, and costs and service tracking; (2) Develop and test support
technologies for Wrap-TMS dissemination, including Wrap-TMS User's Manual, quality assurance and support
desk models, web-based Wrap-TMS training curriculum, interoperability frameworking infrastructure, and touch
screen apps for tablets and smart phones; (3) Continue iterative learnability and usability testing, via lab-based
testing and bug tracking of the system and its online user's manual, as well as live tests with real-world end
users; and (4) Conduct a randomized controlled effectiveness study comparing n=20 wraparound facilitators
who use Wrap-TMS serving n=80 families to 20 non-user staff serving 80 families on practitioner,
implementation, and youth/family outcomes.
