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Have a team dedicated to the implementation project, with adequate time allocated to complete tasks. To maintain project timelines, avoid conflicting priorities and budget time for unforeseen circumstances.

The implementation project team should include representatives from business, clinical, technical and decision-support areas to ensure a well-rounded perspective and to incorporate lessons learned along the way.
 

Before you begin to submit interRAI assessment data to CIHI, it’s a good idea to develop a project plan that outlines activities, timelines and resources.

Your project plan can include

• If applicable, a timeline for transitioning from legacy data collection methods to interRAI Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF), interRAI Home Care (HC) and interRAI Contact Assessment (CA); establish dates for start of data collection using the interRAI suite and for submitting to the Integrated interRAI Reporting System (IRRS)
• An outline of the reporting expected and who is responsible
• A staffing plan that allows time for recruitment
• A list of the contracts to be prepared and when they need to be ready
• Scheduled training and education sessions on the interRAI assessments, vendor software and any business practice or workflow changes
• Administrative and logistic supports required
• Dates by which reports must be created and submitted to senior management
• A sustainability plan for change management/staff turnover
• Opportunities for sharing resources and expertise within your jurisdiction

For jurisdictions/organizations submitting to legacy systems, consideration should be given to when the older assessment training will stop and the cut-off date for completing the older assessment. 

Consider how much time should be provided to allow for corrections of previously submitted assessments, which can be made after the cut-off date. Discuss with your vendor if there are limits to the period for error correction.

ºìÁì½í¹Ï±¨recommends that jurisdictions/organizations explicitly communicate 

• A cut-off date for when the older version of assessments will be completed and submitted to the Home Care Reporting System (HCRS) and the Continuing Care Reporting System (CCRS) 
• A date for when interRAI LTCF, interRAI HC or interRAI CA assessments will be completed and submitted to IRRS

Keep in mind the decommissioning dates for HCRS and CCRS. Explicitly expressing expectations will help staff in preparing, implementing and following through with new business practices. 

Defining a cut-off date will prevent duplication of data submission to both CCRS/HCRS and IRRS.

Long-term care facilities should check with their jurisdiction to determine whether there are further directions regarding cut-off dates.

This will need to happen even if a person has previously been assessed using the Resident Assessment Instrument–Minimum Data Set 2.0 (RAI-MDS 2.0) or the Resident Assessment Instrument–Home Care (RAI-HC). 

This includes completing items in Section B (Intake and Initial History). Information captured in Section B of the interRAI assessment is used at a health system level to inform access to and delivery of care services. Every effort should be made to complete this section as accurately as possible. 

Once an initial assessment is completed, it is recommended that a routine reassessment (Reason for Assessment A8/iA8 = 2) be completed at regular intervals. For the interRAI HC, it is recommended to be completed within 6 months (and no longer than 12 months). For the interRAI LTCF, it is recommended to be completed every 3 months.