Meltdown at work, does TPAPN need to know?

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Nov 26, 2019

I’m not in the same monitoring program as you but I’m sure I missed a check in or two along the way. So far nothing bad has happened. Now I’ve checked in hundreds of times and I’m pretty sure I never missed on a day that I was to be tested but I’m only human

Uncle-JoJo · Nov 27, 2019

I missed a check-in once in the three years I was in TPAPN and they never even mentioned it to me. I also didn't notice any increase in testing.

Their participation agreement doesn't say they'll do anything if you miss a check-in; however, if they see a habit they'll bump up the frequency which costs you tons of extra money and time.

Make sure you set it on your phone as a reminder if you haven't already and make the reminder pop up at a time that is typically before you wake up.

Added: I'd encourage not to send a message to case manager like "I'm so sorry." This will only draw attention to you. Only respond if they reach out to you, otherwise just let it go.

KyBeagle, ASN · Nov 28, 2019

I was in the KY KARE program. I missed 3 check-ins over my 5 year contract. The first 2 were within the first 7 months. Each time, I dutifully emailed my CM with an explanation, as stipulated in the KARE contract.

Afterwards, I went on a 4 year stretch of not missing any.

My 3rd (& last) missed check-in was in my final year. Right before I finished KARE in October of this year, I was looking over the Affinity/Spectrum app & just happened to come across it. The missed check-in occurred way back in May (on Mother’s Day - I was home SICK with a nasty GI bug). I didn’t email my CM at the time since I wasn’t even aware that I had missed. She never asked me about it.

KARE’s check-in timeframe with Affinity is 5am-1pm. After the first miss, I did the same as Uncle-JoJo & set up early reminders (4:58am). After the 2nd miss, I added a last reminder at 12:50pm. That “last call” reminder saved my rear end several times over the years!

I never saw my testing frequency increase directly afterwards. However, I believe that if I had failed to check-in on a test day or if I had a higher frequency of missed check-ins, there would have been repercussions.

I totally “get” your worries about “TPAPN prison”! I was afraid of “KARE prison” the first time that I missed. However, I think the ATD programs will show tolerance of a missed check-in if 1) they’re very, very infrequent (rare); and 2) you’re compliant in all other aspects of your program.

I think you’ll be absolutely fine!