The NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) is the nation’s largest social service department and provides food stamp benefits to 1.8 million recipients via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP loses millions of dollars annually to trafficking, fraud, and overpayments. After fraud discovery, the Investigation, Revenue and Enforcement Administration (IREA), a department within HRA, conducts extensive investigations; however, investigations are costly and the amount recovered rarely covers the expense of the investigation. The Capstone team was asked to work with the IREA to improve their external communication strategy to optimize fraud deterrence methods. The team focused on prevention strategies, researching different deterrence methods used in other states and countries, with particular attention on social welfare programs and the private sector. After analyzing IREA's current deterrence systems, the team developed an effective communication strategy based on best practices to decrease fraud, abuse, and waste in SNAP.

Effective interdisciplinary communication is associated with reduced length of stay, improved patient safety, and increased employee satisfaction. However, communi­cation breakdowns are common in com­plex hospital settings and multiple com­munication structures often exist within the same organization. The Capstone team sought to evaluate current communication systems and make recommendations for improving interdisciplinary communication in hospital settings. After conducting site visits and staff interviews at Columbia and Cornell, the team identified highly functional interdisciplinary teams at both campuses. The team also evaluated best practices in interdisciplinary communication during site visits to other organizations. Based on characteristics of the highly functional teams, detailed interviews, site visits, and research from an extensive literature review on this topic, the Capstone team developed a pilot program for implementing an effective interdisciplinary communication structure on a hospital unit. Significant components of the pilot program include greater accountability, a focus on teamwork, and strong support from leadership.