Page 28 - 2021 MHA Start-up Guide

Option appraisal
An option appraisal is a rough outline of the costs and benefits to executing a full mobile health-
care program (a .k .a ., the one you’ve had in your head, with all the bells and whistles, from the
beginning), a partial program (with reduced services and costs) and no program at all . Complet-
ing an option appraisal will help you separate the necessities from the nice-to-haves and justify
your mission and service model before you even get in front of a funder . Within the plan itself, it
demonstrates that you’ve thoughtfully considered multiple angles of approach to the needs of
the community . There’s no need to include the entire option appraisal within the business plan .
Simply summarize the options and give reasons why your final proposal is the best solution.

Proposal
Comprising the needs assessment, care or service delivery model, and sustainability and growth
strategy, the proposal is the core of your business plan . It is also the encapsulation of your “ask”
for capital and operating funding . The details included within the proposal should give readers a
clear image of the Program you intend to put together, so avoid ambiguities and provide as many
details as possible .

Needs assessment

We’ve covered the needs assessment earlier in this section . Use your business plan to describe
how you conducted the assessment, the data collected, and the insights that the data has sur-
faced. Consider also including anecdotal evidence in the form of stories or profiles from commu-
nity members .

Care or service delivery model
This may be the most important section of your business plan . The proposed care or service
delivery model details the clinical aspect of care that your program is going to provide, and how .
Every other element of your program is predicated on this — right down to the number of cup-
boards required on board your vehicle.

Here are some key questions to address in your business plan:

• Are you going to screen, diagnose and treat health conditions, or screen, diagnose
and refer for follow-up care? Have you a referral provider agreement?
• If referring, to whom?
• How will you coordinate transfer of care?
• Are there providers within or just outside the service area that will provide
no- or low-cost treatment for your referred clients?
• How will you generate and transfer referral documentation?

• Will you pay professional providers, use volunteers or a combination of both?
• When will you begin recruitment?
• What clinical and non-clinical skills will staff need to serve your client popu-
lation?
• Have you identified key competencies, including linguistical and cultural, all
staff members must have?
• Have you created job descriptions and cross-training programs that optimize
staff numbers (i.e. the fewest number of people able to fulfill the most roles.)?

26 MOBILE HEALTH CARE PROGRAM STAR T-UP GUIDE