The New RoI. Effective 1 November 2014

Transcription

1 The New RoI Effective 1 November 2014 *You will need a copy of the new RoI to follow along with this training. If you do not have one at this time go to Austinecho.org to download and print it off. You can find it under Resources, HMIS resources, HMIS documents labeled 2014 Release of Information.

2 Why is the RoI changing? This new RoI fulfills the October 2013 Membership Council Steering Recommendations to support the work of coordinated assessment by: 1. Changing HMIS to an open system. Clients may now choose to opt-out of sharing instead of having to choose to opt-in. 2. Limiting the opt-out of sharing to additionally protected data around detailed medical information, specific disabilities, domestic violence, case management notes, and individually refused questions. 3. Giving clients the option to allow the sharing of services which would identify the service provider agency that may serve the protected classes around mental health, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS. The vast majority of clients and providers do not now open the sharing of services, but in the future, the providers serving these protected classes would have the option to open or close the sharing for their clients, based on the client s wishes and any additional agency legal restrictions.

3 ECHO enlisted the help of legal and privacy experts in DC, TX and ATCIC s attorney and privacy officer in drafting the RoI. The document is deliberately client-friendly, making it easier for clients to understand and easier for staff to explain the benefits of clients sharing their information. Our hope is that with this new and improved RoI, we will have an open system that provides dignity to our clients by no longer requiring them to repeatedly tell their story. With this open system, the client will provide the information once and then our HMIS participating agencies will be able to use that data to efficiently provide and coordinate services that assist them in moving out of homelessness and to permanent housing. This will also lead to improved community level data, the ability to track clients as they move through the system, better system wide analysis, improved service delivery, and improved communication amongst partners, which is an essential element of a successful Coordinated Assessment system. The RoI will allow agencies to not only share information in HMIS but also for agency staff to communicate directly with one another about clients in order to coordinate services. There is also an option to share with outside agencies, which in some instances may negate the need for a separate agency RoI.

4 Timeline The system will become open on November 1 st. On that day staff will need to begin completing a new RoI on all clients (new and existing) for whom they collect any HMIS data. We also recommend that staff go ahead and update the RoI for all existing clients regardless of whether they have an HMIS update. We will also be requiring that ALL of these new, original RoI s gathered on or after Nov. 1 be scanned and uploaded into HMIS into the appropriate client s profile. Like with all other HMIS data entry, all RoI s should be uploaded within five business days).

5 Training ECHO has scheduled this webinar training on Wednesday, October 22 nd at 2:00PM! There will be a video available after this webinar for those who are unable to participate in the webinar. All ethics refresher and new user trainings after October 22 nd will also include training on the new RoI.

6 Other Privacy Documents Additionally, privacy-related documents that are visible to the client, such as the Privacy Notice, will be updated to align with the new sharing policies. We will make these documents available before the system becomes open.

7 About the document The document itself is three pages long. The final RoI will be ed to all agency admins and is available on our website at Austinecho.org under HMIS documents The document will be translated into Spanish. The document is at about a 10 th grade reading level. The document should not just be handed to the client to read and sign but rather gone over with the client to ensure understanding.

8 So what does it look like?

9 This is what the new RoI will look like: Pg. 1 Pg. 2 Pg. 1 Pg. 2 Pg. 3

10 This is what the new RoI will look like: Pg. 3 Pg. 3

11 These are the details of the New RoI: This is where you will write your agency s name when completing a new RoI. If an RoI already exists, here you will see where the RoI was completed. The new RoI only has to be completed once, regardless of agency, so please don t duplicate work. This is where it tells the client what types of personal information this consent covers. This section covers what happens if the client does not want to share information, what set of data we need special permission to share, and what it means to share with outside agencies. Pg. 1

12 Initialing here confirms that the client understands the system and how data from HMIS can be shared. Pg. 1 These bullet points cover additional sharing within and outside of the system that clients may choose to grant. This additional sharing is entirely optional, but additional sharing will enable more efficient and better coordinated service provision by the community. Additional information for the client to be aware of before signing this document. Pg. 2

13 Pg. 2 These bullets cover additional information for the client to be aware of before signing this document. This section covers all of the agencies in our COC will be able to see the information a client puts into HMIS. If the client agrees to additional sharing on the next page, these are also all of the agencies that will have permission to discuss a client s case and services outside of the system. This section covers whether or not the client would like to store and share treatment records for specific health information. Pg. 3

14 This is where the client answers whether or not they would like to share detailed information OUTSIDE of HMIS. Please note that clients who choose YES can still refuse any individual question, and clients who choose NO can still answer any questions they wish to be shared WITHIN HMIS. Pg. 3 This is where we will record printed names, signatures, and staff signatures. Adults will still need separately filled out RoI s, and dependents will still need to be attached to an adult s RoI.

15 This section allows clients who answered YES to pick additional agencies to share their information with, as well as a back-up contact person (for emergencies or for servicerelated messages). This allows case managers to coordinate services with agencies and individuals who are not currently Austin/Travis County HMIS Agencies.

16 At the bottom of each page you will also see the following organization-only check boxes. These check boxes allow the agency to record admin-related information, such as telephonic consent, a request to remain anonymous within the system, or if an authorized representative fills out the consent in the client s stead. We will cover requests to remain anonymous in a few slides, and your agency admin will inform you if your agency is currently accepting telephonic consents. For Organization use only (Staff initials of all that apply) ( ) The Client received a telephonic explanation of this form. Staff obtained telephonic acknowledgement of HMIS Data Sharing Policy and documented that consent with the staff signature on this form. ( ) The Client wishes to remain anonymous within HMIS. ( ) An authorized representative completed this consent for the Client. A description of their right to do so is attached. ( ) Other:.

17 Exceptions to policy Some agencies in the collaborative (such as ASA, Wright House, ATCIC, and SafePlace) are held to additional, more restrictive privacy laws over and above the HUD Federal Privacy Standards (such as HIPAA, VAWA, or Texas Substance Abuse record regulations). In these instances your agency admin will inform you as to what additional releases or written permissions you will need to complete in order to gather and share a client s information. Additionally, these agencies will continue to have their client information sharing in HMIS default to Closed or Locked, just as they are under the old RoI, and the case managers will continue to need to manually open visibility for client information in HMIS that you have the appropriate permission and legal ability to share. Your agency admin will be your guide on these steps in addition to the additional paperwork. Again, you will continue to gather the new HMIS RoI for your clients, and your agency admin will inform you what additional paperwork you need to gather and steps you need to take before you can open up any information in ServicePoint, exactly as you are doing now.

18 Possible Sharing Scenarios 1. The client says YES to sharing Personal Information, Treatment records, sharing outside the agency, and wants to share with all additional agencies in the Optional agencies section. 2. The client does not want any treatment records shown but will share all other data. 3. The client does not want any information shared outside of the system or with outside agencies. 4. The client wishes to remain anonymous, but is willing to allow their non-identifying information to be stored and shared. 5. The client wishes to remain anonymous, and does not want any other information stored or shared. 6. The client does not want to initial or even sign the paper.

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25 Things to be mindful of There is an option on the form to indicate when the client would like to remain anonymous. You are now uploading all RoI s to ServicePoint. Like all other ServicePoint data entry, you have up to five business days from the date it is gathered to upload it into the system. If an existing client has an old RoI entry, there is no need to alter or delete it at this time. Do NOT complete and enter the new RoI until November 1 st. Otherwise the system will assume it s an entry with the old RoI. Green padlocks will automatically share NEW information for existing clients, but it will NOT share historical information unless you go into the lock and give it permission

26 That was a lot of information what should this look like on my end as of November 1 st Start with getting a New RoI for all your current active clients. Upload all of those new RoI s into the clients profile. Moving forward, before you update a client s profile in ServicePoint, let them know you need to complete a New RoI with them before you can make any changes (i.e. updates and annual assessments).

27 Now that we have seen the New RoI, we will talk about what these changes mean for data entry in ServicePoint, especially for visibility and RoI procedure. We have broken down what the changes will look like to you when you are doing one of three things: Creating a new client Enrolling an existing client to your program, or Updating an enrolled client s records, such as through an annual assessment or exiting a client First lets take a look at case manger visibility changes

28 Checking for an existing RoI and Uploading attachments Checking for existing RoI * A client should NOT have to sign a new RoI at every agency. You need to make sure, now that the file attachments tab is visible and we are all uploading the signed RoI, that you are checking for an existing RoI. Follow these steps to check: Step 1: Check the RoI tab: If you see an RoI entry for your agency with a date after Nov 1 st you re good to go (assuming they uploaded their RoI). If you do not see an RoI go to step 2. Uploading new RoI *If they DO NOT have an attachment or if the RoI is old, complete a current RoI with your client, and go to the RoI tab to add a Release of Information entry for your project. Once you have added an RoI on the RoI tab follow these steps to attached the RoI to the clients profile (remember, you have five business days from the signing of the RoI to upload it, but as with all data entry, the sooner the better): Step 1: Scan signed RoI and save to your computer (or shared agency drive). Step 2: Check to see if they have an RoI in their file attachments: Go to Client Profile, scroll down to the bottom. Under file attachment, if they have an RoI you will see it here. Step 3: If you see that they have it as an attachment, go back to the RoI tab and add a release of information entry for your project. This tells the system that you confirmed a current RoI has already been completed and uploaded. Step 2: Go to client profile and scroll all the way to the bottom until you see File attachments OR click on the paperclip icon next to the RoI entry you just made. Step 3: Once you are at Add File Attachments, Click Add New File Attachment. Step 4: Click on Choose File and this will take you to the saved RoI that the client signed and is now saved to your desk top. Once you have located the file attachment click upload. At this time you should see the RoI pop up on the clients file attachment list.

29 Case manager visibility changes when: Adding a new Client. If you are creating a client after November 1 st, you will not need to touch the padlocks anymore, their sharing is now open automatically. This includes historical, present or future data. If you are working with a client who was created before Nov 1 st, you will need to: Verify their padlocks are open (green unlocked). If they are not, you will need to open them. In the past you were manually opening the following padlocks for clients who agreed to share: Services, Program specific data elements, Entry/Exit, Case Managers, Household (some not all). You no longer have to manually open those locks for new clients.

30 Case manager visibility changes when: Adding an existing client to your program. When adding your new Entry for your project you will see the HUD UDE assessment and additional questions assessment. You will need to click on any padlock on the assessments regardless of what color or if it s locked or not. Green padlocks will automatically share NEW information for existing clients, but it will NOT share historical information unless you go into the lock and give it permission. In which case you will need to Add global group and select Future and historic answers.

31 Case manager visibility changes when: Updating a current client. When you are in an interim you will see the HUD UDE s and Additional assessment questions the client has previously answered. For each assessment you will click on the padlock regardless of what color or if its locked or not. Green padlocks will automatically share NEW information for existing clients, but it will NOT share historical information unless you go into the lock and give it permission. In which case you will need to Add global group and select Future and historic answers. Now lets take a look at RoI procedure changes

32 I will now walk through ServicePoint and show you what the changes look like.

33 Questions? We will be gathering up all questions that were submitted during the webinar, and we will answer them as part of a comprehensive FAQ which will be posted on the ECHO website before November 1 st. If you did not get the chance to submit your question during the webinar, you can submit further questions to tinagriego@austinecho.org or prestonpetty@austinecho.org. Any question submitted by COB on Friday, Oct. 24 will be part of the initial FAQ. Questions submitted later will still be answered, but are not guaranteed an answer before November 1 st. Ask early and ask thoroughly!