The Mecklenburg County Health Department clinics are disorganized and inconsistent. That is the conclusion of an outside evaluation publicly released today. The county audit review committee will hear details from these reports at a meeting this afternoon. The review was triggered after the county found out 185 women weren’t notified about their abnormal Pap smear test results in a timely manner.
Two consulting firms were hired to review the department. Navigant Healthcare assessed clinical operations and found staff were using multiple systems for patient records and managers weren’t disciplining poor performing staff. Praxis Partners for Health was hired to evaluate quality assurance and leadership roles. Its report suggests organizational changes are needed and more coordination between programs.
A partner from Praxis who worked on the report is now interim health director of the health department. Mecklenburg County spent about $285,000 on these assessments. County commissioners will likely decide what changes to make to the health department based on these reports.