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Frequently Asked Questions
NC-TOPPS measures the quality of substance abuse and mental health services and their impact on individuals’ lives. By capturing key information on a consumer’s service needs and life situation during a current episode of care, NC-TOPPS aids in developing appropriate Person-Centered Plans (PCPs)/treatment plans and evaluating the impact of services on an individual’s life. It supports Local Management Entities (LMEs) in their responsibility for monitoring services in each LME’s catchment area. The data generated through NC-TOPPS helps the DMH/DD/SAS, LMEs and provider agencies improve the quality of services. In addition, NC-TOPPS provides data for meeting federal performance and outcome measurement requirements, which allows North Carolina to evaluate its service system in comparison to other states.
The NC-TOPPS Guidelines can be found at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/nc-toppsguidelinesjuly12.pdf
NC-TOPPS Interviews are required for 100% of consumers ages 6 and above who have:
NOTE: Health Choice is a publicly funded source, but Health Choice consumers are only required to be in NC-TOPPS if an LME enrolls them into the Consumer Data Warehouse (CDW).
NOTE: All child and adolescent consumers under the supervision of the juvenile justice system who are receiving mental health and/or substance abuse treatment are required to be in NC-TOPPS if an LME enrolls them into CDW.
Further requirements and exclusions can also be found in the NC-TOPPS Guidelines: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/nc-toppsguidelinesaugust11.pdf
If the consumer’s primary diagnosis is DD, an NC-TOPPS is not required. All other consumers who are in the required categories should have an NC-TOPPS completed.
Responsibility for completing NC-TOPPS Interviews lies with the consumer’s primary provider agency. This is the provider agency that provides a qualifying mental health and/or substance abuse service to the consumer and is providing case management functions for the consumer (i.e. usually responsible for developing and implementing the consumer’s Person-Centered Plan (PCP)/treatment plan). The QP in the primary provider agency that is providing case management functions is responsible for ensuring that NC-TOPPS Interviews are completed.
Responsibility for completing the NC-TOPPS interviews lies with the consumer’s primary provider agency. This is the provider agency that provides a qualifying mental health and/or substance abuse service to the consumer and is usually responsible for case management functions (i.e. responsible for the consumer’s PCP/treatment plan).
In this situation, an Episode Completion should be submitted from the previous LME and the consumer should be opened with a new Initial with the new consumer record number under the new LME.
LMEs are responsible for ensuring that its provider agencies are trained on the web-based NC-TOPPS tools and protocols. DMH/DD/SAS, through its contractors, has provided training on the web-based NC-TOPPS data collection system for every LME and will continue to provide technical assistance and training support as needed.
QPs who have never had an NC-TOPPS Username and Password with any provider agency should go to the NC-TOPPS website (http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/), click on “NC-TOPPS 2.0 Website,” and then select “Create NEW NC-TOPPS User Profile.” The QP will need to provide their name, a unique email address, phone number, password, and answer security questions to submit information into the NC-TOPPS New User Profile system (it is strongly recommended that a provider agency email address be used instead of a personal email address). They will then select the appropriate LME, provider agency, and confirm their selection and verify whether or not they are a QP and/or Data Entry User (DEU). Once the changes have been saved, the request will be submitted and an email will automatically be sent to the new user as well as the selected provider agency superuser. The superuser at the provider agency is responsible for approving or rejecting the new user. Access will not be granted to the new user until the approval has been submitted. The new user will be notified of the approval via email.
QPs that already have an NC-TOPPS user login and password and need to add or change their LME and/or provider agency information should go to the NC-TOPPS website (http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/), click on “NC-TOPPS 2.0 Website,” and then login with their previous username and password. The QP will then select the appropriate options to add or change their information. Once the process is finished, if the QP has added an agency(ies), an email will automatically be sent to the user as well as the superuser for the selected provider agency(ies). The superuser at each provider agency is responsible for approving the new user to give them access to the NC-TOPPS system.
Superusers are individuals who have oversight responsibilities for their LME or provider agency. Every provider agency is required to have a superuser. Individuals needing to become superusers should follow the same process for enrolling in the web-based system as a QP. Once they have been approved for the agency, they should contact the NC-TOPPS Help Desk (nctopps@ncsu.edu) to request a Superuser Enrollment Form. The form will need to provide information verifying that they have authorization. Information needed for this authorization will include supervisor name, title, phone number, and email address.
A Data Entry User (DEU) will have the ability to enter interviews for other QPs located in their provider agency, if needed. The DEU has his/her own login and will be prompted to select which QP they are entering the NC-TOPPS under. If a DEU is entering an interview online for a QP, a signature is required to be on the printable version of the interview by the QP responsible for the consumer’s NC-TOPPS. The signature certifies that the QP conducted and completed the interview. The signed printable version must be placed in the consumer’s chart along with the summary page generated by the online system.
Users who have forgotten their username and/or password will need to use the Recover Password link by going to the NC-TOPPS website (http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/), click on “NC-TOPPS 2.0 Website,” and then click on “Recover Password.”
If for some reason you do not know the answers to your security questions and therefore can not use the Password Recovery Tool, you should contact the NC-TOPPS Help Desk for further assistance: nctopps@ncsu.edu
There are a couple of reasons why you may not be able to do an Initial interview. Your LME should be able to help determine why you can not do an Initial. Most of the time, the reason for not being able to do an Initial is because the consumer is currently under a different provider agency with NC-TOPPS. Depending on the situation, the LME can either change the consumer to your provider agency or get the other provider agency to do an Episode Completion so you can do an Initial. If the LME checks and the consumer is not currently open with a different agency, another reason why an Initial would not be able to be completed is if the previous episode of care for a consumer was entered with a different DOB. If you are still having problems, you should contact the NC-TOPPS Help Desk: nctopps@ncsu.edu
You should only complete the Update that is currently due.
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If the QP that previously entered the interview for the consumer is at the same provider agency address, any QP registered at that location can complete an Update for the consumer.
Once an interview has been submitted, you can only change incorrect information by sending a request to the NC-TOPPS Help Desk: nctopps@ncsu.edu
If the QP provides services at a location where internet access is not available, QPs may use printable versions to gather NC-TOPPS information on site. This information must then be entered into the web-based system by the QP or by the Data Entry User (See “What is a Data Entry User (DEU)?” above). Printable versions are available on the NC-TOPPS website (http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/providers/NCTOPPS/) by clicking on “Important User Links.” You can then select the link for “Printable Interview Forms.”
Yes, all NC-TOPPS interviews are required to go in the consumer’s record.
Yes, you can get back to the interviews by logging in, selecting your location, and then going to Website Submission and Manage Episodes of Care. The system automatically defaults to showing Incomplete Interviews. You can select open consumers to see an active consumer or you can select closed consumers if you need to look up someone that has had an Episode Completion submitted. You will then select the row of the consumer (not ‘View’) and then all of the interviews that have been completed for the consumer will appear in the second box. Here you can Review the interview and print if needed. You may need to scroll down in the second box to get to the interview they are looking for.
Yes, you should contact the NC-TOPPS Help Desk, nctopps@ncsu.edu, if you would like to receive raw data.
