"IRis has made a world of difference in our ability to provide correct information to a caller
and to be able to update our directories quickly."
-Pati Comes, Lead Specialist for Utah 2-1-1

When the Utah Health Department began to seek a centralized statewide information resource and data collection organization to handle inquiries relating to the H1N1 virus last spring, Utah 2-1-1 was the clear answer as the only existing statewide call center and one that had recently transitioned to a user friendly Information and Referral software known asIRis.

"We went live with IRis on January 1, 2009 and had the chance to work with it prior to the public information need that emerged in the spring relative to H1N1," said Lorna Koci, 2-1-1/Senior Services Director for Utah Food Bank Services.  "It was great timing because with IRis we have been able to train our people more quickly, the quality of referrals is much improved, and the system we are using is much more reliable."

Utah 2-1-1 Lead Specialist Pati Comes agreed.  "IRis has made a world of difference in our ability to provide correct information to a caller and to be able to update our directories quickly," said Comes.

Comes also said the IRis system has bolstered their existing efforts to establish other highly specialized resource lists.  "We recently had a client who suffered an accident and is paralyzed.  This person is going to face new challenges that they aren't even aware of yet, and we were able to provide an updated agency list to meet this specific need."

With IRis, resource lists can be easily constructed by indexing providers with key taxonomy terms.  Additionally, IRis supports indexing of providers with key terms that are not in the taxonomy.  For example, a resource list may be created under the phrase "Salt Lake Paralysis" to include only area providers that specialize in this type of care.  When "Salt Lake Paralysis" is then referenced during a call only the providers in the group will display for referrals.

Utah 2-1-1 had already developed specialized resource lists in a large variety of areas including dental, alcohol abuse support, senior disabled housing, and single parent and youth, so Koci said H1N1 was a logical addition.  IRis allowed Utah to distinguish H1N1 providers from seasonal flu and traditional medical providers by using the resource list features.

IRis also helped with data collection.  "Initially, we had different types of H1N1 calls to track such as questions about the illness itself, exposure and various symptoms," said Koci.  "At that time, we needed to create our own user-defined fields and drop downs, and IRis allowed us to do what we needed to do.  Now that it's later in the season, the majority of the calls are about the availability of vaccine, so the referral has become relatively simple, and it's more a matter of reporting the number of inquiries from each county which can also be easily done with IRis."

Koci noted the organization had used a "homegrown" software system previously that "served its purpose" but did not give them the reporting ability that IRis provides.  IRis supports reporting by Call Type, by answers to specific H1N1 questions customized by Utah 2-1-1, and by provider.  Through these mechanisms H1N1 reporting can be both detailed and varied by city, county, or statewide.

Documenting calls and identifying pockets of particular need are important to Utah 2-1-1 not only in being able to analyze ways to provide better service, but also because of resource allocation.  "Call volume often translates into funding," said Koci.

For more information on IRis and its features, please click the IRis link under the Products tab, or contact a Bowman Representative: CLOAKING .

For more information on the Utah 2-1-1 implementation of Iris, please visit: www.informationandreferral.org

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