In 2010, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services established a pilot project for In-Home Services and Consumer Directed Services providers to test the implementation of electronic telephone tracking systems, also known as “telephony”. Participation in this pilot project was voluntary. Therefore, some providers are currently utilizing telephony, but many are not.
Missouri law states that all providers, by July 1, 2015, shall have, maintain, and use a telephone tracking system for the purpose of reporting and verifying the delivery of services. (See Statute 660, section 660.023 for In-Home Services and Statute 208, sections 208.909 and 208.918 for Consumer Directed Services.) In anticipation of the upcoming telephony mandate, MMAC has compiled information for providers who are still researching the implementation of a telephone tracking system (“telephony”).
These statutes define specific requirements that a telephony system must meet, in order to be implemented by an IHS or CDS provider. They say, at a minimum, the telephone tracking system shall:
- Record the exact date services are delivered.
- Record the exact time the services begin and the exact time the services end.
- Verify the telephone number from which the services were registered.
- Verify that the number from which the call is placed is a telephone number unique to the client.
- Require a personal identification number unique to each personal care attendant.
- Be capable of producing reports of services delivered, tasks performed, client identity, beginning and ending times of service, and date of service in summary fashion that constitute adequate documentation of service.
The Department of Health and Senior Services’ pilot project also included the following requirements:
- All calls made from each client’s telephone must be made at no cost to the client.
- The system must accommodate both rotary and touch tone telephone instruments. For clients with rotary telephones, the system must be capable of accepting voice activation to capture the required information.
Once the change request is submitted and processed by MMAC, the provider will receive a contract addendum by postal mail that authorizes the use of an approved telephony system. No system should be implemented prior to the submission of a change request and approval of the request by MMAC.
Providers must obtain written permission from each client for the use of his or her telephone, and must adhere to all requirements of adequate documentation with the exception of client signature. Providers must use paper timesheets for clients that do not have phones. Paper timesheets still require adequate documentation including client signature.
To add telephony to your current contract, submit a change request form, found at https://mmac.mo.gov/providers/provider-enrollment/home-and-community-based-services/provider-contracts-forms/ ,to MMAC Provider Contracts.
A link to the list of approved Telephone Tracking System (“Telephony”) vendors can be found on
the Home and Community Based Services page.
UPDATE: (JULY 6, 2015) THE POST ABOVE APPLIED ONLY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SENIOR SERVICES PILOT PROJECT. THE PILOT PROJECT HAS CONCLUDED AND IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. THEREFORE, DO NOT SUBMIT CHANGE REQUESTS TO MMAC FOR TELEPHONY SYSTEM AUTHORIZATION. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION CLICK HERE.