Licensing, Certification, and Incident Management Conducted by the Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Aging

The Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Aging regulate a variety of health and human services providers in order to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians. Among the regulatory activities, they license or certify providers and conduct incident management, as required by state and federal law. The departments are currently reexamining processes to identify opportunities for coordinating efforts in order to streamline the licensing, certification, and incident management process and increase efficiencies for providers and the commonwealth, while maintaining and enhancing the quality of licensing and certification activities of the providers they regulate. As part of this process, they are seeking input from stakeholders of the Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and/or Aging on the following questions. These questions are focused on providers, but feedback is welcome from advocates and other stakeholders. Please send responses via email by Monday, April 30, 2018.

1. Which of the following commonwealth agencies do you interact with for licensing and certification: the Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and/or Aging? Please identify the specific license or certificate types you have.
2. Which of the following commonwealth agencies do you interact with when you must report an incident that took place at your facility/agency: the Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and/or Aging? This could include incidents required to be reported per licensing regulations, or home and community based (waiver) programs.
3. What works well in interacting with multiple commonwealth agencies on licensing, certification, and incident management activities?
4. What challenges do you experience in interacting with multiple commonwealth agencies on licensing, certification, and incident management activities? If possible, please identify whether the challenges are caused by statutory or regulatory requirements, policy or operational guidance, or agency processes or technology.
5. What opportunities do you see for the commonwealth to streamline your experience interacting with multiple commonwealth agencies on licensing, certification, and incident management activities?

This is a major opportunity that can’t be missed. The work being done by the departments is what RCPA and its members have been advocating for over many years. We currently have an administration willing and able to make significant changes. Members are asked to provide as much detail as possible in your responses.