Nov 02, 2024
From: health.sm.EIHub <EIHub@health.ny.gov>
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2024 4:34 PM
New York State Department of Health
New York Early Intervention System (NYEIS) Electronic Mailing List
State of the EI-Hub Two Weeks Post Launch
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to thank you for your continued dedication to supporting children and families during the transition from our previous data system, New York Early Intervention System (NYEIS), to the EI-Hub.
Transition to a new
system that does not look or act exactly like NYEIS is difficult. There have
been challenges and disruptions in the first two weeks. We have heard and hear
your frustration, and we are working to make improvements.
The Department cannot return to or maintain NYEIS any longer. The NYEIS system is out of compliance with mandatory state technology standards. It also cannot be updated to add new types of professionals who can provide services or make other necessary modifications to support the program.
We see EI-Hub as necessary and beneficial to the overall program. EI-Hub integrates case management, fiscal management, and provider management, as well as child outcome measures and accountability measures required by the US Department of Education.
Our goal is that, as we address challenges and as users become more familiar with the system, they will experience benefits.
We are committed to
the success of our Early Intervention Program providers. We acknowledge there
are concerns. We are acting swiftly to remediate the known issues. We are
listening to your questions and concerns. Below are a number of issues we are
hearing from you and the steps we have or will take to address them.
Payments to
Providers
One of our priorities is ensuring providers receive full and timely payments to maintain financial stability.
- An Escrow run was completed on October 2nd and Special Escrow payments were made on October 9th, October 23rd, October 30th, and October 31st.
- The Medicaid payment on November 13th will account for claims processed after the system launch.
In addition, we
will be implementing several temporary measures to ensure providers are
continued to be paid for the services rendered to children and families,
including:
- We have addressed the performance of service logging and communications were sent to the field on October 30th. An additional escrow process was run on October 31st to ensure providers received payment for these claims.
- Issuing more frequent escrow payments.
- Extending the 90-day timely filing claiming limit to allow providers to process claims for older dates of service that may have been missed before the transition to the EI-Hub, and to allow for additional time to bill for services going forward.
- The Department will implement a process for providers to request an advance escrow payment. Further details will be announced separately.
Along with more
frequent escrow payments, these temporary measures will facilitate cash flow
for providers.
Call Center
We acknowledge the high volume of help desk support requests to the call center. We understand that users have experienced long wait times for Call Center customer service over the last two weeks. We recognize the frustration these wait times have posed for users and have taken action to reduce those wait times by restructuring its staffing model to enhance efficiency. The Call Center is adding 50% more staff to provide support to stakeholders.
The Call Center is
diligently working through the backlog of inquiries and striving to resolve
issues promptly and effectively. Customer support staff attempt first-point
resolution whenever possible and escalate cases for additional research as
needed. When system issues are identified, this information is shared to
facilitate updates, and release notes will be posted on the EI-Hub Landing page
to keep users informed of any changes and improvements to the system. The
Department continues to work with the Call Center on customer service and ways
to improve the wait times.
Confidentiality
Any reports of
alleged Personal Health Information (PHI) or Personal Identifiable Information
(PII) breaches are promptly investigated. The Department and PCG have
prioritized investigating reports of confidentiality issues. No reports to date
of participant confidentiality violations have been substantiated. If providers
have specific examples of potential confidentiality violations, please direct
these to PCG by submitting a Web to Case ticket indicating in the title that
you are reporting a privacy concern.
We want to
emphasize that all early intervention providers are required to follow
confidentiality laws as dictated in the provider agreement they enter with the
Bureau of Early Intervention (BEI). The agreement requires all providers to
preserve the confidentiality of any child or family’s data and/or information
that is shared, received, collected, or obtained in relation to services
provided in the Early Intervention Program. Additionally, all EI-Hub
users attest to a system user agreement upon first logging into the EI Hub.
Data Migration
As you know, NYEIS
and the EI-Hub contain thousands of individual fields. Understandably, with
thousands of users and thousands of fields, there are data issues, including
missing information that would have been expected, dates that contradict, and
multiple records for information like address, Individualized Family Service
Plans (IFSP), service authorizations, and more. The Department and PCG mapped
the data and implemented a plan to migrate the information out of NYEIS and
into EI-Hub, striving to make sure the current fields were moved, and the data
do not contradict or fail edit checks when the record is accessed in EI-Hub.
Staff have spent significant time planning for and triaging data migration
issues.
As planned, data were transferred without issue. Unfortunately, despite these efforts and testing by multiple parties, there were some issues identified by users after launch, such as therapist license/professional certification dates, causing some errors when assigning services to these individuals. In response to end user feedback, system edits to correct the migrated legacy NYEIS data have been implemented. These corrections will address difficulties experienced by end users with managing the related information in EI-Hub.
We have heard concerns about the down time of the EI data system during the transition from NYEIS to EI-Hub. This down time began October 4, 2024, at 5:00PM with NYEIS no longer available, to the morning of October 15, 2024, when EI-Hub was brought online. NYEIS was made available in a read-only mode on October 7.
Given the volume of
data migrated and the need to complete tasks in NYEIS, we could not avoid down
time. We limited the down time to the extent possible, with many staff and
tasks happening throughout the days, including evenings and weekends. To
prepare the field, we sent communications beginning in April 2024 about the
planned down time during the migration of users and data from NYEIS to EI-Hub.
System
Maintenance and Planned Enhancements
System improvements
and any necessary corrections will be implemented for providers and local
county programs to move children through the system and initiate services as
needed.
To improve system performance, and to include system corrections and enhancements identified by users, EI-Hub must be taken offline periodically during off peak hours. There have been several maintenance efforts completed during these two first weeks. While these efforts improved performance in some areas, we acknowledge that there is more to do especially during periods of high usage.
Users will be notified of all planned system outages and release notes describing the items implemented in an update will be shared via the Bureau’s listserv. Additionally, users can refer to the Common Call Center Questions document located on the Learning Management System (LMS).
The other reported
issues are being addressed at this time but are not expressly covered in this
first letter. We will continue to provide communication as we strive to improve
the system.
We appreciate the need for the data system to manage the work. We also note that data entry into the EI-Hub should not stop or delay services to children or families. Counties and providers should work together to move children through the EI program and ensure multidisciplinary evaluations are completed, Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings are held, and services are authorized and delivered to children and their families.
Additionally, BEI has initiated a collaboration with the New York State Early Intervention Coordinating Council (EICC) to discuss EI-Hub implementation challenges that are being experienced by the EI community across New York State including system performance, role set-up, billing, and case management functionality. The EICC is partnering with BEI to collect and review EI-Hub issues. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit their concerns to the EICC and BEI to BEI.SSIP@health.ny.gov and include in the subject line “EI-Hub Feedback.”
In response to
stakeholder feedback, the Bureau is working with the EICC to convene a
workgroup in November 2024 of large, medium, and small providers and
municipalities, third party billers, and other stakeholders to address and
prioritize solutions to the issues that have been identified since the launch
of the EI Hub. The workgroup will be co-chaired by the BEI and Public
Consulting Group (PCG).
Again, I want to express my appreciation of your commitment to the Program and to the children and families you serve. Please be assured that the Department will continue to work with PCG to ensure that the EI-Hub supports users to manage the work they do for children and families in the Early Intervention Program, and provider and county payments continue.
Sincerely,
Raymond L. Pierce
Director, Early
Intervention Program
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