As
physicians tell the Texas Medical Association about their continued problems
getting the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to process their
applications for renewal of their controlled substance certificates, TMA
continues to press state officials for an explanation. More importantly, TMA
continues to press DPS officials to let physicians know what they have to do
to get their renewed certificates and when they can expect to receive them.
Here are
the questions that TMA posed and the answers from Amanda Arriaga, chief of
the DPS Public Affairs and Policy Division.
What
is the best way for physicians to get renewal
applications to you? Can they be done online? What is your preferred and most
convenient mechanism? Can you send explicit instructions?
Renewal applications must be submitted through
the mail along with the required fee. The mailing address is preprinted on
the application form. We do not have an online application process, but are
working toward enhancing the current system to allow for online submission
and payment processing. As you know, renewal notices have traditionally been
mailed 60 days prior to expiration. Recently, we have expanded the
notification process and are now sending notices 90 days prior to expiration
and highly encourage applicants to submit the application and fees promptly.
Additionally, we are updating the application form and will post it online in
the near future. This will allow registrants the opportunity to download the
renewal form and mail it to us.
Do you
anticipate the same effort at the end of this month as in July to process
applications?
As of today's date (Aug. 24), we are current with processing renewal
applications. However, we are still receiving a high volume of renewal
applications for August expirations. For example, we received more than 300
applications just this past Friday. While those will be processed quickly,
this provides the department only eight business days to complete the
process. As of today, we still have not received renewal applications for
approximately 17 percent of those scheduled to expire in August. Applicants
who submit their application as of tomorrow have provided themselves only
five business days to complete the process before their licenses expire.
Will
DPS grant an extension in the event their renewal is unable to be processed?
We will begin notifying applicants about their impending expiration 90 days
in advance, rather than 60 days. As applications are received, we will
process them. However, applications that are submitted at the last possible
moment may not be renewed before the expiration of the license.
Can
DPS create a renewal form in PDF?
The Regulatory Services Division is posting the renewal document in PDF form
and should have it completed in the next several days.
We're
hearing from physicians who cannot get through to DPS, are anxiously awaiting
their renewal confirmation, or cannot get through by phone to ask for a
renewal application. At the same time, they cannot go to the DPS website to
even download and print a renewal form.
The department continues to process renewals in a timely manner. As of
Monday, Aug. 22, we were processing applications received by the department
the week of the 15th. Therefore, persons who submitted their application more
than two weeks prior to expiration will have their applications timely
processed, though normal processing time is approximately three to four
weeks. Nevertheless, we strive to renew all applications prior to expiration
as we understand the work done by these medical professionals. We have
checked with our contact center, and there is no influx of phone calls that
would indicate individuals not being able to get through on the phone if they
are attempting to check status. We reviewed wait times again this afternoon,
and as of a few hours ago, it took only eight minutes in the call queue to
reach a customer service agent. As the notification of expiration includes
the renewal form, the only individuals who would need to download a form
would be ones who have lost their original one. In that case, they can
contact us and we will immediately send them another renewal form. Please note:
If there are physicians who sent in their renewal several weeks ago and have
not seen an update, please send us specific names so that we can review their
situation and determine if there was any unreasonable delay with their
application.
Physicians
say they have been unable to reach the manager of the Licensing and
Registration Services Department by telephone or by email.
We apologize for the delay. Our manager is doing her best to answer your
questions, as well as the others that she receives, in a timely manner.
Even
with an apparently new system, this remains a paper-driven process that
requires new and renewing applicants to mail (or possibly) fax materials to
DPS for the renewal. And with this brings the usual and expected clerical and
data entry bottleneck for the department.
We are not able to accept applications by fax because they must be
accompanied by the registration fee. If we were to accept an application by
fax, the processing still could not begin until the payment is received. The
new system improved the activities of our processors to handle the
applications internally. Unfortunately, the initial intake of receiving the
applications is still paper intensive. We have plans in place to automate the
application process in the future, including an online pay function, but as
with any state agency, we must prioritize based on limited funds and
resources provided.
We
still cannot understand, and it's never been explained, why a "new"
system cannot allow for secure online renewals. It certainly would relieve
the DPS from the clerical burden of dealing with paper renewal forms, manual
check processing, handling thousands of phone inquiries, etc.
We may have caused some confusion in conversations about our "new
system." There were internal features that were automated to help our
processors function more efficiently. However, there was not a new system
created solely to address the issue of automation of the Controlled Substance
Renewals (CSRs). In sum, our monitoring of CSR renewal applications does not
indicate any internal delays. If there are physicians who believe there is an
issue with their application, please forward their names and we will look
into their specific situations. For applicants who have lost their renewal
form, likewise, they can contact us, and we will immediately get another
renewal out to them. However, we encourage persons to apply as soon as
possible. If the 17 percent of outstanding applications are received with
only five business days for the department to process, it may be very
difficult to accommodate their requests.
You may
check the status of your application online.
Enter your DPS number. This should bring up your record. If the expiration
date is in 2012, DPS has renewed your certificate. DPS updates the database
nightly. DPS will mail a renewal confirmation, but TMA suggests you print a
copy of the registration page showing the new 2012 expiration date to prove
you have a current DPS registration number.