Improving Metabolic Health in Group Homes With a Data-Driven Risk Management System

Metabolic illness is a major source of morbidity and mortality both for people with mental illness and those with intellectual or developmental disability. In this column, the authors describe the pilot testing of the metabolic risk management index system, a quality improvement initiative for managing metabolic health risk in clinical and residential settings that includes data-based tools that can be easily used by direct-care staff. They also report some preliminary outcomes (N=199 individuals). The pilot test was conducted in an organization that serves individuals with mental illnesses and developmental disorders, but the index could easily be adapted for use in other clinical settings.