| (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.
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