Survey Results Matter: How Sheltering Arms Institute Uses Information You Share

By: Megan Murphey, PT, DPT, ATP, NCS, Assistive Technology Specialist

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Surveys take time and you may think that the results don’t matter; however, surveys are an important way for your care team to gain insight and knowledge into your experience and outcomes. One survey offered at Sheltering Arms Institute is the Functional Mobility Assessment, or FMA.

What is the Functional Mobility Assessment and Who is it for?

The FMA is specifically designed for individuals who use a wheelchair as their primary means of mobility. The FMA is offered to all wheelchair clinic participants at Sheltering Arms Institute and tells us how you use your wheelchair and how helpful your wheelchair is to you in your daily life.

How Often Do Patients Complete the Functional Mobility Assessment?

The FMA survey is distributed multiple times throughout the life of your wheelchair so that we can see how well it serves you when you first receive it and how well it continues to serve you as the equipment ages over time.

What Happens to the Information Collected in the Functional Mobility Assessment?

You may be wondering, what do they do with the information that is collected and is it even used? The answer is yes! The FMA survey results are monitored to identity areas for performance and process improvement.

The results collected over time also give us a way to keep in touch with our wheelchair clinic clients. If survey scores decrease, we will reach out to the patient and determine if an evaluation, repairs, or more training is indicated.

Another opportunity this survey provides is that it allows us to compare our results to other participating facilities across the country.

Finally, survey results are used to create a large, nationwide data set that researchers are analyzing to help justify insurance coverage and service delivery models for this important medical equipment.

So, next time you think about skipping the survey, remember your answers matter!