Service Level and FSW ID Assignments

FSW ID and Service Level assignments are automatically calculated in PIMS based on assignments made in the Intake and Service History forms.  These automatic calculations show up in several PIMS reports in addition to the Monthly Contact Log, Home Visit Log, and Termination Form.

Q: The FSW ID and/or Service Level are showing up as “unassigned” in the Monthly Contact Log Form or Home Visit Log form.

A: FSW ID and Service Level ID will show up as “unassigned” if the date of the Monthly Contact Log or Home Visit Log is before the participant’s Date Service Level Assigned or after the participant’s Date of Termination.  To solve this problem:

1. Open the Intake record and look at the Date Service Level Assigned, then open the Termination record and look at the Date of Termination, then make sure that your Monthly Contact Log or Home Visit Log date falls in between these two dates.
2. If you’re sure these dates make sense, go to the Main Menu and click Refresh to make sure that the service level history is up to date.

Q: The FSW ID and/or Service Level appear incorrect when I enter a new Monthly Contact Log Form or Home Visit Log form.

A: In the Monthly Contact Log or Home Visit Log, PIMS will automatically calculate the FSW ID and Service Level ID as soon as you enter a date.  If the date you enter is today’s date, PIMS will look to the most recent Service History record for the assignment.  However, say for example that you’re cleaning your office and find a two year old Home Visit Log under your desk which you want to enter.  When you enter the date in the Home Visit Log, PIMS will calculate that participant’s FSW ID and Service Level at that date- which may be a different FSW ID or Service Level from what they have now.

Q: A participant is showing up on one of the reports with a Service Level or FSW ID of “unassigned” or blank.
A: If the Service Level or FSW ID is unassigned, this means that the participant has not yet enrolled or has already terminated.  They might still show up on the report because they have either a Monthly Contact Log or Home Visit Log outside their range of active service.
To check this, go to the Home Visit Log for this participant, page to the first and last records, and check the dates.  Then, go to the Monthly Contact Log, page to the first and last records, and check the dates.  Often you will find a data entry error (for example, the year was entered as 2010 instead of 2001).

Q: How does PIMS perform the calculation for FSW ID and Service Level?

A: Whenever you click the Refresh button in PIMS (in the Report Menu and the Main Menu), PIMS constructs a service level history table.  The service level history table looks a lot like the Service Level History report:

When you enter a Home Visit, Monthly Contact, or Termination record, PIMS cross-references the date you enter with this table, and makes a determination of the participant’s Service Level and FSW ID as of that date.

For example, if you enter a Home Visit Date of 5/20/08, PIMS sets the Service Level to Level II and the FSW ID to B002.

The Monthly Contact Log is a bit more complicated.  Since a participant may change their service level mid-month, but you are counting visit events for the entire month in a single form, PIMS can only approximate.  PIMS makes a determination of the Service Level and FSW ID based on the most frequent assignment for that month.  In the above example, for May 2008, PIMS would choose Level I and FSW B002 because the participant spent the most days during May with this assignment.