SECTION 87.117. Follow-up with Consumers

(a) OO staff follow-up with a consumer or the consumer's LAR within five business days of the date of receipt of a contact, and then at least every ten business days thereafter, until the contact is closed. If the consumer provides consent, OO staff also follow-up with the consumer's health care provider.

(b) OO staff may establish a more structured communication plan if a consumer's or LAR's conduct hinders the effective investigation and resolution of a case. To determine what actions may be appropriate to structure future communication, the case and all communication between OO staff and the consumer or LAR will be reviewed by an OO supervisor. If the supervisor determines more structured communication would achieve effective investigation and resolution of the case, a written communication will be shared with the consumer or LAR outlining what OO finds has hindered complaint resolution. If a consumer's or LAR's conduct continues to hinder the investigation or resolution, the HHS Ombudsman will communicate with the consumer or LAR in writing to outline how future communication with OO staff will be structured. The consumer's or LAR's conduct will continue to be monitored to determine if communication has improved to the point that the additional structure can be discontinued.

(c) The process outlined in subsection (b) of this section will never result in a consumer being left without a way to contact OO staff.

(d) State law and HHS policy require disclosure of an employee's full name, work phone number, and work email address, if requested by a consumer. However, a consumer or the consumer's LAR is asked to use the OO toll-free line and shared email address when corresponding with OO staff.

(e) A consumer or the consumer's LAR requesting the direct phone number or individual email address of any HHS staff not already listed on the HHS website, including OO staff, is directed to HHSC's Open Records process.

Source Note: The provisions of this §87.117 adopted to be effective January 10, 2019, 44 TexReg 252; amended to be effective December 21, 2022, 47 TexReg 8273