Hi I'm Diane. I'm here to talk to you about the FTCA site visits. As you know,
FTCA site visits are a critical part of the oversight and compliance process, but due to
the pandemic and travel restrictions HRSA has had to take a step back to modify this process.
Moving forward, we'll be initiating a virtual site visit. So let's get started to learn
more about this process. HRSA conducts these site visits as a means to objectively assess
compliance with the implementation of FTCA deeming and program requirements.
These visits ensure compliance with all FTC policies, statutes and regulations,
whereby previously we would come on site with our team, we will now have to conduct them
virtually. Let's review the four main factors that may prompt a site visit.
A site visit may be prompted after the submission of an FTCA redeeming application
which demonstrates possible non-compliance with FTCA program requirements. There may be
a need for follow-up based on prior site visit findings or other identified issues or concerns.
Or there may be a history of repeated conditions or medical malpractice claims. Let's say you are
one of the health centers that have been selected to receive a FTCA virtual site visit in the coming
months. I'd like to take some time to discuss with you what to expect. The first thing is that a HRSA
representative will contact you by phone and ask a couple of questions around your readiness
to actually have a virtual site visit. The readiness assessment will cover a number of areas
including but not limited to: technology and your capability to partake in a virtual site visit;
staffing and their availability to participate; your operations to determine if your center
is fully operational or working from satellite offices; document review capability and finally
the ability to offer a virtual walk-through of your facility for our site visit team.
After confirmation that we may move forward we will conduct a pre-site visit conference call.
This will be a conference call with the virtual site visit team including contractors.
This will take place approximately four weeks prior to the site visit. On the call,
the team will discuss the virtual site visit process, expectations documents we request,
and the virtual site visit tour which we'll discuss in further detail later. The site
visit team and health center will develop a mutually agreed upon agenda for the site visit.
GoToMeeting platform will be used to facilitate the virtual site visits.
Staff and board members must be available during the week of the site visit for the
scheduled interviews and interactions required by the virtual site visit.
The health center will be required to provide selected number of documents at least four weeks
prior to the scheduled date of the FTCA virtual site visit. Health centers will be
trained on the CITRIX file share platform to transfer documents to HRSA. A representative
from the Management Solutions Consulting Group, MSCG, will contact your center to set up a time
for training. As mentioned previously the site visit will be conducted using the GoToMeeting
platform. The team will be able to utilize screen sharing capabilities to share documents,
logs and other items that have not been uploaded to CITRIX.
As part of the virtual site visit, you will be asked to provide a virtual tour of your facility.
Using your laptop and through a secured link via GoToMeeting, we may ask you to provide
a virtual tour of a vacant exam room, clinical spaces, your medication storage, or eye washing
stations. At the end of our time together, we'll have an Exit Conference. At the Exit Conference
we'll discuss any identified non-compliance issues and or opportunities for improvement.
Thank you for joining us today for the overview, the FTCA virtual site visit. Following is a list
of several resources that may help you further. Thank you again. So please visit the Federal
Tort Claims Act, FTCA website at https://bphc.hrsa.gov/ftca.