1	TASC CJM Evaluations: Focusing on Teleform Method
2	Who are we? What are we doing?
3	Pilot Study
4	Data Collection – Go Live
5	Peculiarities of Paper Teleforms Forms are scanned using Teleform, an optical character recognition (OCR) software package Forms must be completed using very specific guidelines Important to understand the “why” of all these Mickey Mouse rules
6	Teleform Features (who has done NC-TOPPS?) Single response: Mark only one response. Multiple response: Mark all that apply. Skip Pattern: Instructions to skip certain questions because they are not relevant.
7	Teleform Features Numeric fill: Numbers only in the box read by machine. Machine will ONLY “see” 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Alpha fill: 26 letters only. An O will always be interpreted as the letter-O and never as zero. Alphanumeric fill: More complex machine reading task so we try to avoid this. Machine has difficulty distinguishing between 0 (zero) & O (letter o) or 5 and S, etc. Free form text box: Requires person to read this and decide what was written and type it into the software while being scanned.
8	Numeric Fill Numbers must be formed correctly Numbers must be inside the boxes. OCR (“optical character recognition”) only recognizes marks inside the target Do not enter letters in numeric fields
9	But what if……? Numbers are written poorly Numbers are outside of the box
10	Best Practice for Numeric Fill Any of these formats is acceptable to record the number 3, but the last one is preferable A leading zero is not necessary and often, if present, is sloppily written which results in the value being interpreted incorrectly (e.g. like a six 6)
11	Alphanumeric Fill vs. Alpha Fill and Unique ID Due to problems in the Pilot with alphanumeric fill, we broke the “unique id” into 2 parts – the alpha part and the number part: Alpha part: First 3 letters of last (maiden name) and first letter of First name. Numeric part: date of birth – month, day, year
12	Unique ID is broken into Components for Clarity For males, it consists of first 3 letters of last name. For married females who have taken husband’s last name, it is first 3 letters of the maiden name. The next component is the first initial of the first name. The last component is the date of birth, which will be acquired from #8, date of birth
13	Free Form Text Box Enter text in the box – the person scanning the form will look at the image of the written text and type it in Does NOT make use of OCR
14	Single Response Format
15	Multiple Response Format
16	Incorrect Multiple Response
17	What If I Make a Mistake? Boldly mark through the incorrect response and write the correct one in the margin Do NOT use white-out.
18	What Type of Pen Should I Use? Felt tip with a fine point is best Use black or dark blue ink Avoid ballpoint pens that skip Do not use pencils, highlighter pens, or markers
19	Not Eligible Example
20	Additional Concerns Do not staple forms Write Client SSN on every page of the forms Do not fold forms Do not use copies of forms: If you need more forms, contact NDRI for more or print directly from pdf form that can be emailed to you. Form Versions and Communication Issues – what method is best – email, web-site, snail mail ??
21	What Is the Purpose of the Care Manager ID Form? Care Manager form serves as Care Manager registration or identification. Complete this form only once – or – if key information is changed such as address, email, or county(ies) served Allows us to identify the source of Teleforms by linking Care Manager ID with the actual person by name and address Gives us a phone or email if we have a question about the form Allows us to give clinician feedback on quality of assessment completion
22	Transmittal Form Complete transmittal form and place in the envelope with forms being sent to NDRI and/or Make sure return address is on the envelope
23	When and Where to Send Assessments Always complete and mail a Transmittal Form when mailing assessments Mail assessments at least once per month Mail completed forms for the previous month no more than 3 business days after the last day of the month
24	Doris Hard at Work Scanning…
25	Who is Doris? Doris Leaston, Administrative Coordinator (receives, scans, and verifies teleforms) Email: leaston@ndri-nc.org Phone: 919.863-4600 ext. 0
26	Other Contact Information Gail Craddock, Research Director 919.863.4600 ext. 226 craddock@ndri-nc.org Marge Cawley, Ph.D., Project Director 919.863.4600 ext. 223 cawley@ndri-nc.org Fax: 919.863.4601 Address: 940 Main Campus Drive, Ste. 140 Raleigh, NC 27606