StreetCard: Information Technology to Improve Services for Homeless Persons.
Preferred learners
- United States
- Academic experience
Categories
Skills
Project scope
- What is the main goal for this project?
-
INTRODUCTION
I originally formulated the StreetCard program for implementation in the city of New York.
New York City, despite being one of the wealthiest cities in the world, has a large population of homeless persons living on the streets. Every year, in February, the city sponsors an overnight HOPE (Homeless Outreach Project Estimate) count; even on the coldest nights of the year, the HOPE count records approximately 3,700 persons sleeping on the streets.
If you ask a Homeless persons why it is they prefer not to go to a shelter, you will get a lot of different answers. First, the shelters are difficult to get into, and admission involves a lengthy bureaucratic process which is difficult to navigate, even for persons with above average organizational skills. Second, the shelters are dangerous, and residents frequently report being attacked or stolen from. Third, a street person will tell you that the shelters are a business," and corrupt supervisors get "paid by the head," which leads to a misrepresentation of the number of residents on any given night.
Although NYC does offer a number of services for Homeless persons, a thorough examination of the system reveals defined points at which taxpayer money is profligately wasted. The StreetCard program is a is carefully reasoned and comprehensive program that promises to leverage Information Technology to eliminate the "cracks in the system" through which public funds are lost.
ORGANIZATION
The StreetCard is a photo-ID card with a QR code that will connect the bearers of the card to service providers participating in the StreetCard program. The StreetCard program is a web-based database that holds Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data and Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
The StreetCard is intended to be implemented in segments, representing three levels of services. The first level will connect StreetCard clients to Basic Needs Providers (BNPs). The second level is a programming interface (API) to access medical, psychiatric, and rehabilitative electronic health records on an immediate basis, diminishing time spent in hospitals and institutions waiting for those records to be laboriously faxed. The third level of services will allow a comprehensive application for all the benefits a Homeless person might be entitled to from local Departments of Social Services (DSS), in a single visit, from any of several service providers under the "No Wrong Door" approach.
CURRENT PROGRESS - First tier
At this time, the first tier of services (for BNPs) is completed.
CURRENT PROGRESS - Second tier
A previous student group has begun work on the second tier of services, designing an API for the Homeless clients' EHRs. They have defined the roles of healthcare personnel who interact with the system, and started work on formatting the fields that will hold the EHR data. The students have created a github account that holds the codes for the StreetCard so far, and also contains comprehensive documentation the students have compiled to assist future groups with the project development.
The second tier of services will enable networking of hospital systems to speed the collection of medical records for StreetCard clients, and minimize the amount of time they spend in hospitals and institutions. It is expected that implementation of this level of services will require the development of security solutions to ensure protection of Personal Identifying Information (PII) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Additionally, the EHR data will be classed according to HIPAA regulations allowing segregation of data into categories appropriate for the level of access of the health care provider.
- What is the main goal for this project?
-
INTRODUCTION
I originally formulated the StreetCard program for implementation in the city of New York.
New York City, despite being one of the wealthiest cities in the world, has a large population of homeless persons living on the streets. Every year, in February, the city sponsors an overnight HOPE (Homeless Outreach Project Estimate) count; even on the coldest nights of the year, the HOPE count records approximately 3,700 persons sleeping on the streets.
If you ask a Homeless persons why it is they prefer not to go to a shelter, you will get a lot of different answers. First, the shelters are difficult to get into, and admission involves a lengthy bureaucratic process which is difficult to navigate, even for persons with above average organizational skills. Second, the shelters are dangerous, and residents frequently report being attacked or stolen from. Third, a street person will tell you that the shelters are a business," and corrupt supervisors get "paid by the head," which leads to a misrepresentation of the number of residents on any given night.
Although NYC does offer a number of services for Homeless persons, a thorough examination of the system reveals defined points at which taxpayer money is profligately wasted. The StreetCard program is a is carefully reasoned and comprehensive program that promises to leverage Information Technology to eliminate the "cracks in the system" through which public funds are lost.
ORGANIZATION
The StreetCard is a photo-ID card with a QR code that will connect the bearers of the card to service providers participating in the StreetCard program. The StreetCard program is a web-based database that holds Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data and Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
The StreetCard is intended to be implemented in segments, representing three levels of services. The first level will connect StreetCard clients to Basic Needs Providers (BNPs). The second level is a programming interface (API) to access medical, psychiatric, and rehabilitative electronic health records on an immediate basis, diminishing time spent in hospitals and institutions waiting for those records to be laboriously faxed. The third level of services will allow a comprehensive application for all the benefits a Homeless person might be entitled to from local Departments of Social Services (DSS), in a single visit, from any of several service providers under the "No Wrong Door" approach.
CURRENT PROGRESS - First tier
At this time, the first tier of services (for BNPs) is completed.
CURRENT PROGRESS - Second tier
A previous student group has begun work on the second tier of services, designing an API for the Homeless clients' EHRs. They have defined the roles of healthcare personnel who interact with the system, and started work on formatting the fields that will hold the EHR data. The students have created a github account that holds the codes for the StreetCard so far, and also contains comprehensive documentation the students have compiled to assist future groups with the project development.
The second tier of services will enable networking of hospital systems to speed the collection of medical records for StreetCard clients, and minimize the amount of time they spend in hospitals and institutions. It is expected that implementation of this level of services will require the development of security solutions to ensure protection of Personal Identifying Information (PII) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Additionally, the EHR data will be classed according to HIPAA regulations allowing segregation of data into categories appropriate for the level of access of the health care provider.
- What tasks will learners need to complete to achieve the project goal?
-
No deliverables exist for this project.
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