What is a ‘good outcome’ for people with behavioral and cognitive disabilities? The data – and the standards – are all over the map.

Even as the requirements around medical necessity, documentation, and billing get more stringent, there’s still no broadly accepted agreement on what defines a ‘good outcome’ and how to measure it.

When it comes to outcomes management, every stakeholder wants (and needs) something different. Payers want value for health care expenditures. Health plans are looking for a lower total cost of care – often translated into lower use of emergency rooms, fewer readmissions, and better Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) scores. Consumers want to achieve their personal life goals, as unaffected by their health care condition as…