Updated Schedule — Group 1 Kickoff & Implementation

 

Expired. This post relates to Group 1 Providers only

• This message was sent on Oct 9, 2014 to primary AFC & GAFC program contacts based on OLTSS record, and AGD Point-persons identified to that date. 
• Updated Oct-23 with Harmony technical baseline document as PDF download, to be used in Action Item #4 below.
• Updated Oct-24 with Kick off webinar details including webinar time change (new time: 11/6/14, 2-3:30 PM)
• Updated Dec-19 to account for Group 1 go live delay. 
• Updated March 12, 2015 – the Go-Live date is set for Wednesday, April 1st, 2015  Please see Group 1 Go Live Information

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This message provides important schedule updates since our first Group-1 email of September 5th.  Our implementation strategy and basic approach as outlined then is unchanged; today’s email covers much the same ground but with new timelines and dates.

This message provides updated schedule information for the statewide deployment of AGD Direct, an upgrade to the AFC/GAFC Determinations process to determine initial eligibility for AFC and GAFC. Your organization has been identified as a member of Statewide Group 1, the first large group of providers to be implemented.

The upgraded AGD process will streamline determination submission, reducing the number of days for eligibility to be determined. The AGD process takes place in SIMS – the Senior Information Management System operated by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA), using SAM, an application operated by Harmony Information Systems. All AFC & GAFC Determination information has been recorded in SAMS since 2009:  a key feature of the upgraded process is that your organization's staff will now be SAMS users who record MDS-HC data and other consumer information and attach digitized document scans, enabling Coastline to review all determination materials within SAMS.

Your organization is one of 115 AFC & GAFC provider organizations identified in statewide Group 1. Currently, there are eight (8) organizations that are live in SIMS using the new AGD process. Since their go-live on June 30, 2014, there are 293 completed determinations initiated with the new process.

Following Group 1 deployment, there are 117 organizations in statewide Group 2 that will be deployed in a fast-follow. Paper processing of AFC/GAFC determinations will be discontinued following the Group 2 go-live. 

The purpose of this email is to provide updated meeting details & important action items for the Kickoff Webinar & Training for AGD Direct.

Webinar:	AGD Group 1 Kickoff & Initial Training
Date:	Thurs November 6
Time:	2 PM
How to join:	Please plan on joining the webinar 5-10 minutes before start time if possible.  Website: https://join.me/andy.grigorov  Phone Number: 1-781-666-2350 Access Code:     447-802-991#
Attendees:	AGD Point-person(s), other key implementation staff in your organization, or senior management. Expected: two (2) per organization

Objectives for Kickoff Webinar (Thur Nov 6, updated)

· Introduction to project & team members

· Overview of roles, responsibilities & timeline

· Training Demonstration: Login, User Account setup, SAMS Overview, Determination workflow

· Provide training and training materials/user guides.

· Discuss next steps.

Who Should Attend the Kickoff ?

We recommend that a small number of individuals (1-3) from each provider attend the kickoff webinar.

One attendee should be the AGD Point-person or an alternate (see below).

Attendees should be aware of your organization's technical landscape, and/or familiar with the capabilities, tools, & processes of staff involved with clinical determinations.

We recognize that schedule coordination or conflicts may present occasional difficulties. Thus, we will record webinars for later review, and all materials (calendars, references, user guides, etc.) will be made available on the AGD Support website.

Role of AGD Point-person

The AGD Point-person is primary point-of-contact for all project communications between your organization and the ELD/ OLTSS Project Team. You are expected to disseminate information to your organization's end-users, and to seek clarification from the Project Team whenever necessary. Point-people are the designated voice of an organization; communicating with the AGD Project Team via standard protocols, for all users in the organization. Organizations may wish to identify two (2) point-people for continuity during vacations or at other locations.

The point-person should thoroughly understand your organization's assessment process for AFC or GAFC applicants: from initial referral, collection of assessment documentation (Physician Summary Form, Request For Services, etc.), RN's onsite assessment, MDS-HC data records, and post-submission communication with Coastline Elder Services.

The Point-person is responsible for user account access administration for the organization, identifying colleagues who are potential SIMS users because of their participation in the determinations process, and communicating this information to the Project Team. Point-people will ensure that end-users set up their User Accounts correctly and are able to manage their own password resets and security questions. "Points" are also responsible for ensuring that User Accounts are terminated when necessary, and other aspects of maintaining Administrative Security to Protected Health Information.

The AGD Point-person trains end-users within their own organization, after train-the-trainer sessions with the Project Team. The Project Team will work to ensure that end-user training materials are effective, appropriate, clear and usable, and readily available. Point-people are expected to raise issues and identify gaps or improvements in training and other implementation materials.

Point-people are the first line of user support within their organization: to help end-users resolve password issues; perform basic troubleshooting; and incidental training to enable successful use of SAMS. If a technical issue with the application emerges, the Point-person will gather details and communicate with AGD.Support staff at ELD/OLTSS.

The role of the AGD Point-person will continue after implementation ends and the processing becomes routine, though personnel may change.

What's Next: Implementation Overview

Note:  Go-Live date below has been updated.

Also, see the attached project calendar. Note: check https://agd-support.mass-aging-disability.org for project updates.

Updated Dates	Task	Note
As soon as possible	identify AGD Point-person	See Role of AGD Point-person, above.
Thur, Oct 23	User Account Info Is Due	See Your Action Items, numbers 3,4,5 below.
Thur, Nov 6	Group 1 Kickoff Webinar	(webinar for Point-people) Kickoff meeting: Project Overview, Process Demonstration.
Thur, Nov 6	User accounts active	(email to each end-user) User Account information is emailed to each user after the webinar
Fri, Nov 7	Practice Period Begins	(users' workstations) All users perform 1st-time account setup; begin practice workflow processing in SAMS (sandbox environment).
Fri, Nov 14	Training Webinar	(webinar for all end-users) How-to: 1st login, User Account setup, locate/create consumer, assessment, attachments, signal that materials are ready for CESI review, monitor in-progress determinations, notification. Webinars will be available as a recording.
Tuesdays (beginning 11/25)	Weekly Webinar until further notice	(standing webinar for all Point-people & interested end-users) Ongoing Support webinar for any & all users. AGD Point-people are expected to attend. Project Team will continue weekly webinars as needed. Specific schedule TBD.
	End Practice Period
Wed, April 1st, 2015	Go-Live	All User Accounts set to production environment. All determinations via SAMS, no more paper submissions.

Your Action Items

1. Acknowledge receipt of this email. If your organization did *not* acknowledge receipt of the Sept 5th email, please send a quick reply to agd.support@state.ma.us to acknowledge your organization has received this note.

2. RSVP to kickoff webinar & identify your AGD Point-person(s). Please reply as soon as possible, and no later than close-of-business on Thursday October 23rd (updated) with the names of your organization's attendees. For example, your Executive Director may wish to attend with the AGD point-person. Please provide name, job title, and email address. Thanks to those organizations that have already provided this information.

3. Identify all SIMS end-user candidates in your organization that will participate in the new AGD process. Gather their information.

4. For each SIMS end-user, validate that workstations meet Harmony's technical baseline. Download Harmony Supported System Configurations (pdf).  This should be a quick review. Yellow flags: tablet computers, non-Windows computers, computers more than 3 or 4 years old. Before you buy any new hardware, please alert the Project Team to a possible issue, and remember that there are many SIMS users statewide who are successful using non-supported configurations. Questions? Email us at agd.support@state.ma.us.

5. User Account information: due to the Project Team by 12noon on Thursday October 23rd (updated). Each user must have a unique email address, to be used for password resets. Please provide a single spreadsheet (a word table is OK) listing all of your users, including email addresses and a brief note regarding each user’s primary workstation.  The table should have one row per user and contain the following headings:

First name	Last name	Email address	Job title	User's Workstation meets technical spec (meets baseline / possible issue )	Workstation details. (Provide only if there’s an issue.  How is the tech baseline not met?)
Pat	DeBunny	pat@xample-afc.com	Clinical director	Workstation meets baseline	One row per user, please

Communications

The main project email address is agd.support@state.ma.us. This address is monitored by the Project Leads, whose individual addresses are listed below.

Email is the preferred communication medium: we are a de-centralized project team. Please do not use phone or voicemail to initiate communication on any project-related topic, except by prior arrangement.

Clarity: please use precise, concise, & appropriate subject lines on all your communications.

Important:  please identify your organization in the subject line of each email so that we may better track your communications.

Thanks!

We look forward to working with you!

The AGD Project Leads.

Pam G AGD Project Manager GAFC Program Manager

Andy G AGD Project Manager Elder Affairs IT

Jim O AGD Project Manager Elder Affairs IT