Texas Children's Link - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

There is no charge to physicians to access Texas Children's Link at Texas Children’s

Texas Children’s does require private physicians to agree to certain terms regarding security and privacy.

Usage of Texas Children'sLink from Texas Children’s will not necessarily change how you send us orders or communicate with us. If you want to continue to receive communication from us via fax or US mail, we will honor that request. If you want to continue to send us orders (e.g. referrals, labs, imaging studies, etc.) via paper processes, that’s fine. Texas Children's Link is just another option for communicating with Texas Children’s.

Private doctors and their staff who use Texas Children's Link will be able to access most clinical data about patients for whom Texas Children’s can establish a relationship. Texas Children’s will look at the following to establish a relationship:

• If a parent or legal guardian tells Texas Children’s that you are the patient’s PCP, you will have access.
• If you order something for the patient from Texas Children’s, you will have access as an ordering provider.
• If you refer a patient to Texas Children’s, you will access to that patient as a referring provider.

Most clinical data are shared with private doctors and their staff who have an established relationship with a Texas Children’s patient. This includes inpatient data, ambulatory data, and Emergency Center data. There is some sensitive or other clinical information that will not be shared via Texas Children's Link, either due to Texas Children’s policy or parental/patient request.

No financial data will be shared via Texas Children's Link.

We do allow you and your staff to access a patient’s information if your partner has an established relationship with the patient. Of course, per our agreement with you, doctors and nurses can only use Texas Children's Link to care for patients for whom they have responsibility and a clinician-patient relationship.

Texas Children's Link is fairly easy to use and intuitive (like many web-based programs). There is some basic information that we’ll communicate to you about options that you may choose to utilize if you want.

We hope that you’ll have few problems while using Texas Children's Link. Most common tasks can be accomplished by you or your staff. Let’s look at some examples:

• Password problems: If you forget your password, you’ll be able to reset the password yourself by answering some questions that you’ve previously set up. If your password expires do to non-use for 90 days, you should e-mail us at EpicCareLink@TexasChildrens.org.
• Remove access if a doctor or employee leaves your practice:  You will designate one of your staff to deal with common administrative tasks such as removing access from doctors or employees who leave your practice. This person will also be asked to review the list of users at your office every three months to ensure the list is current.
• Add a new doctor or employee to your practice: If a new doctor or employee joins your practice, your Texas Children's Link site admin can start the process of requesting access to Texas Children's Link.

You will only have access to patients with whom you have a pre-existing relationship. You establish a connection with a patient via the following methods:

• The patient/parent lists you or your partner as the PCP when they interact with Texas Children’s (e.g. registration, scheduling, etc.)
• You or your partner have ordered a test (e.g. lab, imaging study, etc.) for the patient in the last 120 days.
• You or your partner have referred the patient to a Texas Children’s provider (e.g. referral) in the last 120 days.

If you feel you meet these criteria and you still can’t find your patient, you should send a message via Texas Children's Link to “P TCH LINK SUPPORT”. We expect to be able to resolve these issues within 2-3 business days.

Typically, the patient or parent will be asked about the PCP during the registration or scheduling process. However, if the patient or parent wants to change the PCP at some other time, we will need a signed request from the patient, parent, or legal guardian. You can use your practice’s Request for Information form or one provided by Texas Children’s. The form, along with the request to change you to the PCP and the appropriate signature, should be faxed to Texas Children’s Health Information Management (HIM) department at (832) 825-0124. Expected turnaround time to change the PCP (and hence grant you access to the patient’s chart) is 1-2 business days.

During the unusual circumstances when access is denied to you for unknown reasons or you require urgent access to the chart, you should call the Texas Children’s Health Information Management (HIM) department at (877) 361-0111. This number is staffed during normal business hours, including weekdays between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

A security process to ensure user accounts are accessed appropriately and ensures you are the only person to access your account. It requires two steps for login completion:

• Step 1: Enter Username and password
• Step 2: Enter code received via text or MFA mobile app

Yes. You will be presented with a new code upon each log in, and this code must be entered for successful login.

MFA configuration settings can be reset by inputting the RESET CODE provided at the time of initial configuration.  If you do not have your reset code or it is not working, please contact the Provider Connect team at 832-TCH-CARE (832-824-2273), M-F 8a-5p, excluding holidays.

No. You have the option to choose how you would like to receive your login code during MFA configuration.  We highly recommend selecting the TEXT MESSAGE option for MFA as it is more user friendly and allows us to better assist should you experience any challenges.

There are many MFA apps available for users to select.  If you are currently using a MFA app for another website or service, you may continue to use the same app for EpicCare Link MFA. Examples of available MFA apps include:

• Symantec VIP Access
• Google Authenticator
• Microsoft Authenticator