Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) Training New York State Department of Health (DOH) School Supportive...

Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) TrainingNew York State Department of Health (DOH)

School Supportive Health Services Program (SSHSP)Fall 2015

www.pcghealth.com | NYS SSHSP Fall Training 2015 2

AgendaRMTS Overview

RMTS Participant Role

RMTS Coordinator Role

RMTS Impact on Cost Settlement

County Time Tracking Process

PCG Claiming System Demo – How to Add Shifts

Important Things to Remember!

PCG Contact Information

RMTS Coordinators, do you know who prepares the cost report in your district?

Financial Reporting Staff, do you know who the RMTS Coordinator(s) is in your district?Yes? Great!

No? You have homework!


RMTS Overview

The random moment time study (RMTS) is used to determine the amount of time (and cost) spent on various activities.

The RMTS is required as part of the annual cost settlement process.

This is one of the most crucial reimbursement determinants used by the NYS Department of Health (DOH).


RMTS OverviewWho participates in the RMTS?

Included in RMTS Process

School district staff providing direct medical services

Excluded from RMTS Process

× School district or county contracted providers of SSHSP services

(cost included in cost report process)

× County staff providing direct medical services (staff included in separate 100% time tracking process)


RMTS Overview

The RMTS includes the distribution of 2,827 moments to participants within each cost pool on a quarterly basis.

• Moments are randomly assigned to participants at the start of the quarter.

• Moments are not generated for the summer quarter (no moments sent July-September).

• The RMTS is an ongoing, quarterly process.

The RMTS is NOT a management tool used to evaluate staff activities or performance. The results of the time study are ONLY to be used in the cost settlement process.

What is the role of a RMTS participant?

• Participants are responsible for responding to each and every moment they receive within two schools days with a detailed and accurate submission.


RMTS Overview

1. All moment notifications are sent to participants via e-mail from [email protected].

2. Shortly after the moment has occurred, participants will receive an automated email with a link to the secure PCG Claiming System (RMTS) website.

3. Participants are asked to respond to a series of questions describing the activity performed at the time of the moment.

4. A reminder email is sent to participants 24 hours after the moment if the moment response has not been submitted.

Moment email notifications are sent shortly AFTER the moment occurs; NO advance notification is provided!



Participants selected for a moment must log onto the Claiming System website and answer the following questions:

1. Were you working at the time of the moment?

2. Who was with you?

3. What were you doing? Please be as specific as possible.

4. Why were you performing this activity?

5. Is this activity regarding a Special Education student?

6. Is the service you provided part of the child’s IEP?

If the participant is providing direct medical services to several students or a group of students, it is acceptable to respond “Yes” to question 6 if at least one student has that related service in their IEP.



Participants should provide detailed information when a narrative response is required.

If there is not enough information provided in the response, PCG will follow up and request that the moment be resubmitted by the participant.

Participants should provide only one activity as part of a moment response. Remember the moment represents a specific minute in time!

Participants need to be trained on the RMTS process in order to understand and meet expectations.



DO’s of moment submission! Provide a descriptive narrative response.

Be sure whether the student is classified as Special Education or not prior to submitting a response if working with a student(s).

Respond to the last question carefully. If that participant performs a direct service or an activity that supports the provision of medical service identified in the student’s IEP, it is appropriate to select “Yes.”

DO NOT’s of moment submission!× Submit responses similar to: “I was working,”

“Acting as a nurse,” “Entering Notes” as these ARE NOT specific enough!

× Submit a response with multiple activities. Provide information on the single, predominant activity performed at the assigned minute in time.

× Use acronyms. PCG will follow up to ask participants to define acronyms.



Quarterly Staff Pool List (SPL) and Calendar Certification

• Review, update, and certify the SPL to ensure the appropriate staff are participating in the RMTS process.

• If an eligible staff member does not participate in the RMTS, their cost will not be captured in the cost settlement process for that quarter.

• Update and certify the calendar for the upcoming quarter to include holidays when moments should not be assigned to participants.

• Holidays only include non-work days in the district, for example, winter break and spring break. Do not include conference, professional development, or training days as these are considered work days.

Train RMTS Participants

• The participant training presentation is posted to the dashboard of the PCG Claiming System for Coordinators to access and distribute to participants at any time.

• The expectation is that participants are trained by Coordinators on an annual basis, at a minimum, and new participants are trained when they are added to the system.

What happens when you exclude an eligible service provider from your SPL?Either…

1. The provider’s name will not appear in the “Annual Payroll” section of the cost report if they did not participate for the entirety of the school year OR

2. Costs will only be allowable under the “Annual Payroll” section of the cost report for the quarters the staff member participated even if the district paid them for the entire year.

Example:

If the direct medical services RMTS percentage is 50% and a school district paid a physical therapist $60,000, the direct medical service cost is $30,000 (60,000 x 0.50). If this staff member was excluded from the time study for the school year, the district is unable to include this cost in the Medicaid cost report.



District Response Rate Compliance

• RMTS Coordinators are expected to monitor the district response rate throughout the school year.

• The expectation is that all districts exceed a 90% response rate each quarter.

PCG Provides Tools to Help You!

1. Reminder Emails – Coordinators are copied on 24 hour reminder emails sent to non-responsive participants.

2. Coordinator Compliance Report – Available to Coordinators at any time with live response data, specific to your district.

3. Weekly Compliance Report – PCG emails a Weekly Compliance Report to all RMTS Coordinators. This includes final response data for the previous week and quarterly response rate to date for ALL districts.

4. Hotline and Email – Contact PCG at any time! We can assist with training efforts in your district if necessary.

What is a “Vacant” Job Position and why does PCG ask so many questions about my district vacancies?

It is possible your district requires a Job Position to be vacated or a vacant job position to be added when:

1. The district anticipates filling the Job Position within the quarter.

2. The district understands the impact on the response rate if the vacancy is not filled within the quarter.

Throughout the certification process, PCG follows up with districts carrying over several vacated Job Positions to ensure accurate use and understanding of this action. We are looking out for your district!


• The RMTS identifies the statewide proportion of allowable and reimbursable direct service time, and the results are used as a statistic in the cost reimbursement process.

RMTS Impact on Cost Settlement

Why does the RMTS response rate truly matter for cost settlement?

Statewide quarterly response rates. What happens when we do not meet 85% statewide for one quarter? Example assumes meeting exactly 85% in two of the three RMTS quarters. Based on Direct Service Therapy Pool results from 12-13 school year adjusted to meet total moment sampling changes from 3000 per quarter to 2827 per quarter. Dollar impact is reflective only of the DMS applied to total annual salary reported (No FFP applied).

RMTS Response Rate Does Not Meet 85%

Moments Generated for Quarter 2827

Moments Submitted for Quarter 2300

Moments Required to Meet 85% 103

Moments Added to Unallowable Activity Code 103

Impact on Direct Medical Service Activity% of Direct Medical Service Pre 85% Adjustment 41%% of Direct Medical Service Post 85% Adjustment 40%

% Difference -1%

Average District Compensation of Staff $1,153,596.26

Impact of 1% Decrease on Average District $11,535.96

Impact of 1% Decrease Statewide $6,552,426.79


• County employees (employed directly by the County) providing SSHSP services are required to participate in a 100% time tracking process in order for their costs to be reported under “Annual Payroll.”

• What is 100% time tracking?• Similar to a RMTS process, 100% time tracking is used to quantify the

amount of time, and therefore the specific staff costs, spent in support of various programs.

• Staff track their time in 15-minute intervals for all time spent at work. • Only county employees providing direct medical services will

transition to 100% time tracking. School district employees will continue to participate in the RMTS process.

County Time Tracking Process


• Starting with certifications for the January-March 2016 quarter, Coordinators have the ability to add shifts to accommodate a variety of RMTS participant work schedules.

• Before editing this information in the PCG claiming system, it is CRITICAL to review the step-by-step instructions provided by PCG when the quarter is opened (estimated date is 12/1/2015).

• Why add shifts? • Currently, each district has one shift which all participants in your

district fall into. For example, M-F 8:00AM – 3:00PM.• By adding shifts, participants are only eligible to receive moments

during the hours specified in the shift they are assigned to.


What if all providers work the same schedule that is already in the PCG Claiming System?

That is OK and you do not have to update! The “Shifts” option is most useful for:

1. Districts with part-time and full-time staff.

2. Districts with a variety of work schedules.

PCG cannot stress the following enough with the “Shifts” configuration.

3. Do NOT wait until the certification due date to configure this setting.

4. Read the instructions provided CAREFULLY before editing “Shifts.”

Why? If the shift configuration is set up incorrectly, there is potential for moments to be generated during non-work hours (3AM, for example).


• Select “Configuration” and “Shifts” from the Menu Bar.

• To edit an existing “Shift” click on the appropriate “Shift.” If you add shift types, there will be multiple shifts listed.



• Coordinators can edit the shift name, position (where it appear on the list of multiple shifts when editing the SPL), and the work schedule.


Coordinators can assign any “Shift” name, and the “Duration” can include any increments of time.

Important! “Shifts” include a begin time and DURATION!

When adjusting a “Shift” or creating a new shift make sure you do not include an End Time in place of duration!

Example: If a provider works 8:00AM-2:30PM, the “Shift” would be set like the snapshot above, with a Begin Time of 8:00AM and a Duration of 6h 30m.


• To create a new “Shift,” select “Add a New Shift” on the top left of the screen.

• Complete all required fields, outlined in red.



• To change a Job Position’s “Shift,” go to the district SPL, click on the Job Position to be edited, and change the “Shift Type.”



A moment represents a minute in time.

Participants have two (2) school days from the time of the moment to submit the moment. After two school days, the moment expires and can no longer be accessed or submitted by the participant. Train your participants!

Coordinators are responsible for managing the RMTS process for their district(s). It is a critical element within the cost reporting process.

Districts have the option to manage “Shift” configurations next quarter. PLEASE review all guidance prior to making edits, attend a PCG led Web-Ex refresher, and call/email PCG with any questions.

Important Things to Remember!

For example, a moment for Monday at 8:30AM must be submitted by 8:30AM Wednesday.


PCG Contact Information

Questions?

Comments?

If you have any RMTS questions, contact PCG at:

(866) 912-2974 - Option #1 for RMTS

or

[email protected]

www.publicconsultinggroup.com

Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) Training New York State Department of Health (DOH) School Supportive...

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