Paperwork and Programming

[MT-PRO Music Therapy List]

A MT-PRO Music Therapy List member recently wrote:
> 
>    A rule of thumb we follow at my facility is 1 hour of documentation
>     time for every hour of group sessions conducted.  I would be
>     interested in hearing other's replies to this as well.
 
Hi People,
         Thank you Caroline for sharing your "rule of thumb" with us.
In your "1 hr of group sessions conducted" does this mean more than two
sessions per hour? And how many individuals on average are included in
these groups? 
        Also thanks to Karen for sharing with us the comparison between
the amount of time spent on documentation between the individual and
group sessions. It seems that about 5 mins per individual on average is
spent on documentation. Would this be fairly accurate Karen or have I
got it mixed up? And did you include planning and evaluation of the
music therapy programs, themselves in this 5 minutes? Also, what is a
"swingbed" and "C.T.R.S"?  If these questions are too many to answer on
the listserv, then you could email me separately.
    Thanks to Linda for sharing your paperwork vs programs load with
us.In answer to your questions, our administration is at present
completing an audit of services provided for our clients with
intellectual disability. This is to ensure that they get maximum support
from service providers. I am also interested in developing a
professional music therapy service that is responsive to their needs and
accountable for the best processes and outcomes. The administration is
aware of the need for planning and documentation and guidelines are
important.
  Again, I can see the need for flexibility in this whole process. I
mean if one has a new group, it is often important to do some research
in a new clinical sub-group/ area and this often takes time. However,
when one has the knowledge bases and programs already set up, then time
spent on paperwork re: assessments and reports becomes a lot less as one
becomes a lot more proficient in developing clinical knowledge.
Reporting of music therapy sessions is reduced with resolution of
clinical problems.
  I think that time spent on paperwork also depends on the type of
clients referred. Some clients are more easy to assess and document than
others.
  It would be wonderful, if there was some kind of documentation deal
for Music Therapists (computer package), so they had a standard but
flexible format for assessing, programming/processing and evaluating,
etc.. information that needs to be documented in music therapy sessions?
Any ideas out there?
  Anyone else for comments about this area?
                                         Thanks for you ideas,
                                                  from Dot Newland.
-- MT-PRO Music Therapy List, mtpro@multipro.com on 09/21/1999 at 8:17:33 PM


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