This system notice was last updated on May 9, 2023 with additional updates.
Audience
Transplant center data coordinators and other users who enter recipient follow-up data in TIEDI®
Implementation
The following changes were implemented on June 28, 2017.
At-a-glance
UNOS released new enhancements to TIEDI® to allow transplant center staff to perform actions that are currently restricted, and require you to submit a request to UNOS:
- Reporting a recipient status as “Not Seen” on the transplant recipient follow-up (TRF) form.
- Recipient transfers, accepting/declining recipient transfers, and transferring expected follow-up forms.
Details
Reporting a Recipient as “Not Seen”
As of June 28, 2017, the status of “Not Seen” is available in the “Patient Status” field on the TRF form. You should use this status if new patient information is not available during a follow-up period.
When reporting a recipient as “Not Seen”, the only fields required for validation are:
- Date: Last Seen, Retransplanted or Death
- Patient Status
Please enter the date that the recipient was last seen; in most cases this date may be the same as the previously validated status date, which is available in the upper right corner of the follow-up form.
If you report a recipient as “Not Seen” on the follow-up form but later determine the recipient was seen during the follow-up period, you can simply change the patient status to an appropriate status (ex. Living). If you change the patient status, you will need to validate the form again and the form will be changed to an “Expected” status with an expected date of 30 days from the change date.
“Not Seen” Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a patient is reported as “Lost to Follow-up” with an expected form? Do I need to submit a Service Portal request to remove the expected form, or can I simply report the expected form as “Not Seen”?
You need to report the patient as Not Seen on the expected form. The status date used on the “Not Seen” form will be the date the recipient was last seen.
I am reporting a form as “Not Seen,” but all the fields still show the red asterisk that would normally indicate that they are required. Do I need to complete these fields?
No, when reporting a patient as “Not Seen”, the only other required field* is the “Date: Last Seen, Retransplanted or Death.” Please enter the date that the patient was last seen; in most cases this date may be the same as the previously validated status date which is available in the upper right corner of the follow-up form.
Is there a limit to how many times a recipient can be reported as “Not Seen” before the recipient needs to be reported as “Lost to Follow-up”?
No, there is no limit to how many times a recipient can be reported as “Not Seen.”
Does the “Not Seen” status work with the import and export of TIEDI® follow-up forms?
Yes, the “Not Seen” status works with the import and export of TIEDI® follow-up forms. To view the changes to the file layout and look-up table, please review the Vendor Notice “72309 UNet Vendor Notice – Release of Code to BetaPortal” posted on 5/31/2017.
A recipient was reported as “Not Seen”, but now I need to change the form. How can I access and update the form?
You would access the form the same way that you would access previously completed TRF forms (either by performing a record search or patient history search). After the status change is made (changing status to Alive), the form will need to be validated again. When you re-validate the form, it will turn to an “Expected” status with an expected date of 30 days from the change date.
Can I go back to previously validated Not Seen forms (forms that were reported as Not Seen prior to June 28th) and change the patient status?
Yes, you can. Any form reported with a Not Seen status should function the same regardless of when the form was originally validated.
Recipient transfers, accepting/declining transfers, and transferring expected follow-up forms
We are implementing changes to the TIEDI® Recipient and Forms transfer process. Transplant centers initiating a transfer will now be able to transfer a recipient and their expected follow-up forms at the same time without the need for a Service Portal Request.
When a center initiates a transfer, the transfer of the recipient and any expected forms is “Pending” until the new center accepts the transfer. The transplant center receiving the transferred recipient and their records, will now be given 30 days to ACCEPT or DECLINE the transfer. Once the new center accepts the transfer, the new center will be able to search and view the patient history for the transferred recipient, even if no expected forms are transferred.
This is an improvement over the current process where the transferred recipient information is not available until a follow-up form has generated at the new center. Keep in mind that transplant center users will still only have access to the follow-up forms or their center.
To assist users with the updated behavior, users will notice two new sections in their Expected Data section. The “Initiated Transfers within the Last 30 Days” will display a list of initiated transfers from your center to another center. The “Pending Transfers to Your Center” section will display a list of recipient transfers to your center that require either your approval or rejection.
When you initiate a transfer for a recipient with expected forms, the expected forms will become locked for your center. If your center wishes to complete the expected form(s) prior to a transfer, it is important that you complete the form(s) prior to initiating the transfer. If necessary, your center may also cancel a pending transfer before it is accepted by the new center.
Please note: A transfer is not considered complete until the new center accepts the transfer; this means that any expected forms that are pending due to a transfer will still remain as “Expected” on your list until the new center accepts. Once the new center accepts the transfer, the expected forms will be transferred to the new center with a new expected date of 30 days from the accepted date. You can periodically monitor the status of any pending transfers by checking the “Initiated Transfers” section.
“Transfer” Frequently Asked Questions
How long do centers have to accept/decline/cancel a transfer?
A center has 30 days from the initiation of the transfer to either accept or decline it; each pending transfer will display the initiation date and the deadline. The center that initiated the transfer can also cancel it within those 30 days. If no action is taken within 30 days, the transfer request will expire and will no longer be visible on the “Pending Transfers” list.
I initiated a transfer a while ago, and it was on my list of Initiated Transfers, but it disappeared. Where did it go?
The Initiated Transfers section will display a list of initiated transfers within the last 30 days. If an initiated transfer is not accepted, declined, or cancelled by the deadline, it will expire and no longer appear on the list.
How can I tell which follow-up forms will be transferred to my center when I accept the recipient transfer?
The Expected Transfers section displays a column labeled “Follow up” which will list the follow-up form(s) that would transfer to your center if you accept the transfer. If multiple forms are listed, please be aware that all listed forms will be transferred to your center if you accept the transfer.
What happens to the expected forms when I accept a recipient transfer? Am I still held to the same form expected date for the original center?
When you accept the transfer, the expected forms will transfer to your center but the expected date will be reset when you accept the transfer. This will provide your center with the standard number of days to complete the expected follow-up form(s).
There is a recipient that is being transferred to our center, but we did not see the recipient during the expected follow-up period. What should we do?
You may still accept the transfer since the recipient is being followed at your center. For the expected form, you now have the option to report the recipient as “Not Seen” for the follow-up period if they were not seen.
My transfer was not accepted by the other center, and the expected form is still due for my center. What can I do now?
You have the following options:
- Contact the other center to discuss why the transfer was not accepted.
- Report “Not Seen” on the form.
- Report the patient as “Lost to Follow-up” (Please see this system notice for more details on this status).
The center I wish to transfer to (ex. foreign center), does not appear in the “Transfer Recipient To:” list. How can I transfer the recipient? If you need to transfer a recipient to a center that is not within the OPTN, the recipient should be reported as “Lost to Follow-up,” as Non-OPTN members are not obligated to report the follow-up data. Please see this system notice for additional details.
I’ve transferred a recipient but when I access the expected form for the recipient, there is no “Validate” button on the form.
Since the recipient is still pending the transfer, the form is locked for editing until the transfer is accepted, declined, or cancelled.
If I complete a follow-up form for a recipient, and generate a PTM (Post Transplant Malignancy) form, and then transfer the patient before I validate the PTM form, will the PTM form be transferred?
No, the PTM form will remain at the center that validated the TRF form.
When I went to transfer my recipient to the new center, I was not prompted to enter a transfer date. Where do I report the transfer date?
You no longer need to report the transfer date for recipient transfers, and we have removed the transfer date field from the transfer page.
Questions?
If you have questions related to these system enhancements, please contact the UNOS Customer Service (UNet Help Desk) at (800) 978-4334 or [email protected].
