EEOICPA BULLETIN NO.02-11
Issue
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Effective
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Expiration
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Subject:
Updated Energy Claims Management System (ECMS)-
Release Notes (v.1.4.9.88)
Background:
The ECMS is updated periodically to incorporate recent changes and
improvement.
Reference:
ECMS User Reference Guide (updated
Purpose:
This bulletin serves to notify Division of Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) District Office (DO)
staff of the updated version of ECMS.
This version of ECMS incorporates several changes and enhancements based
on feedback from the DOs. The Release Notes (v.1.4.9.88)
explain the changes on a screen by screen basis. If a change affects many screens in the same
matter, it is grouped together under the name of the change like “Description
in List Boxes.” If an illustration of
the change is presented, the screen is also presented with a shadow setting
text box to point to the changes on the screen.
Applicability:
All Staff
Actions:
1. DEEOIC staff will immediately incorporate
these ECMS changes into their case adjudication process.
2. This is the first release containing the
notes & Call-up function. This is a
significant improvement for processing claims and caseload management. DO staff should
begin to use this feature to remind them of any upcoming action dates
associated with a particular claim.
3. This is the first release that requires that
a CE assignment be made prior to entering any claim status codes. The CE assignment is made on the Case
Screen. While in most instances CE
assignment is entered at the time of case create, a Supervisor CE, Senior CE,
Ops Chief, or DD may modify CE assignments.
4. This release also modifies the SCE-payment
certification process. SCEs will now
have three options available to them in ECMS they did not have before –
certify, reject or cancel a payment.
· Certify
– this option allows the SCE signature & date to be recorded in the
certification box. It also
"locks" the payment transaction.
· Reject
– this option "unlocks" the transaction before certification and
clears the CE signature and date. Upon return to the CE, the CE will then
reprocess the transaction before proceeding with payment processing.
· Cancel
– this option allows the SCE to cancel out of the payment screen without any
changes to the payment transaction.
5. This release includes new codes for
transferring cases to local FAB offices located in the individual DOs. Cases going from DOs to their local FAB
office for final decisions must be transferred using one of the following codes
before the local FAB office can update those cases.
(The National Office FAB will remain FAB)
6. To transfer a case (within a DO or between
DOs the NO, local and NO FAB), a user with the role of SCEX must transfer it in
the ECMS Case Screen. A notation that
matches the ECMS data (for “location”, “date”, and “by”) must also be
made to the case jacket each time a case is transferred. Cases coming back to DOs from their local FAB
office must also be transferred to regular DO codes before these cases can be
updated. The regular DO codes remain unchanged.
District
Office codes:
Cleveland - CLE
7. The “Notes and Call-ups” are intended
primarily as a tool for CEs, senior and supervisory CEs in managing their
caseloads. Even though use of the notes and call-up functions is voluntary, the
CE should follow the guideline set forth in this bulletin to maintain
consistency. Each call-up is a note that
has an ‘action date’ associated with it that is used to display pending actions
by date and type.
8. Each ECMS note consists of up to 255
characters of text and case number, note type code (see below for codes), claim
type associated with note, District Office Code, call-up date priority (values
1=highest priority through 5=lowest priority), public flag (when public = y,
the note is public, otherwise it is private), update, current owner id, and
date created by/transferred to current owner.
9. When to use which Note type codes?
|
A –
Adjudication |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to a development issue (i.e. employment,
medical, survivor) requiring resolution. |
|
B – Bill
processing |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to any matter related to medical bills or
medical services related to the case. |
|
F – FAB
related |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to FAB (i.e. hearings/reviews, final
decision expected). |
|
I – Inquiry |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to an inquiry that needs to be made or
answer is expected. |
|
L – Lump
sum compensation |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to lump sum payments. |
|
O – Other |
Use this
code when the note/call-up pertains to any miscellaneous item. |
10. When to use Private or Public designation?
· The
default is Public – meaning that the note is visible by all authorized
ECMS user. Such notes would be included
in the case file for any FOIA requests.
· Private
notes are those that only the owner can see and update. A new CE, for example, might want to place a
reminder of some procedure or policy reference they need to be cognizant of
when they take the next action noted in the call-up. Such a note would not be intended as a
permanent part of the file, but rather a personal job aid for new staff who
would delete it after taking the call-up action.
· Supervisors
might want to track a particularly difficult case for customer service to help
ensure that DO standards are being met (i.e. telephone calls are returned
promptly, action items are being followed).
11. What determines the priority and what do the
numbers mean?
· Assigning
a priority is strictly at the discretion of the owner of the note (1 = highest
priority, 5 = lowest priority). A user
can sort their notes and call-ups in the Manage view based on priority;
however, it is not a required item. The
default is ‘1’.
12. When do I delete a note or call-up?
· Any
note that is marked as private should either be deleted after it has served its
purpose or made public.
· For
public notes, the owner of the note should delete it once it has served its
purpose.
Disposition:
Retain until incorporated in the Federal (EEOICPA) Procedure Manual
PETER M.
TURCIC
Director,
Division of Energy Employees
Occupational
Illness Compensation
Distribution
List No. 1:
Claims Examiners, Supervisory Claims Examiners, Technical Assistants,
Customer Service Representatives, Fiscal Officers, FAB District Managers,
Operation Chiefs, Hearing Representatives, District
Office Mail & File Sections