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Whenever a patient calls a toll-free line on the 99DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) envelope, they should have the following experience:

  • The call is answered immediately.
  • A brief "thank you" message is played.
  • The call hangs up automatically.

In total, the call is less than two seconds long. After this sequence, the Nikshay adherence dashboard will be updated with the adherence details.

Patients may sometimes face issues with the toll-free lines. In such times, the healthcare worker must try to understand the challenge and help the patient to resolve the issue. The table below shows common issues with the toll-free lines and their solutions.

Issues Solutions
The patient dials the toll-free number and hears “Thank You”, but the Nikshay dashboard is still showing red.
  • Ask the patient to give a missed call to your phone. Check that it is the same number that is registered in Nikshay. If there is a data entry error in the registered phone number, correct the number in Nikshay.
  • The patient might also have a dual SIM phone or another alternative phone number. If another number is being used by the patient, add the number in Nikshay.
The patient dials the toll-free number but hears an out-of-service voice message.
  • Visit the patient and check the balance in the pre-paid phone connection.
  • If it is negative, the call cannot be made.
  • The call can be made with zero or more balance in pre-paid connections.
  • In post-paid connections, if the bill is not paid, the patient cannot dial the toll-free number.
The patient dials the toll-free number but hears “Please check the number”, “Invalid number”, or “Number not in use” voice messages.
  • Ask the patient to dial the number.
  • Check that they are dialling the entire number, without adding ‘0’, ‘91’, or ‘+91’ and they should not cut the call till they hear “Thank You”.
The patient says that their pre-paid balance is deducted after dialling the toll-free number.
  • Ask the patient to make a toll-free call.
  • Check the balance SMS they receive. The last call charge will show as Rs.0.00 and the total balance will also be shown.

The patient has very little or zero balance, dials the toll-free number and hears a long message regarding less or zero balance.

 

  • When the balance in the pre-paid connection is very little or zero, the patient might hear a long message from the telecom service provider.
  • Request the patient to wait for that voice message to end. On completion of this voice message, the toll-free number will be dialled, and the patient will hear “Thank You”.
The patient dials the toll-free number but cannot hear anything or “Thank You” is not heard.
  • Request the patient to try multiple times.
  • At times, due to network congestion, the call may not go through, just like any other mobile number.
  • You can also try dialling the same toll-free number from your phone, to check that the toll-free line is working.

The patient says that they are not able to connect to the toll-free lines after 1:00 PM or 3:00 PM.

 

  • The toll-free calls can be made till 11:59 PM for the current day’s dose. The timing restriction is only for the SMS alerts.
  • Educate the patient that if they do not call by 1:00 PM they will get an SMS reminder.
  • Even after that, if they do not call till 3:00 PM the staff will get an SMS alert.
  • They can still call after 3:00 PM till 11:59 PM. The moment they call, the dashboard will turn green.
  • It is only at 12:00 AM (midnight) that the dashboard turns red.

 

Resources:

 

 

Assessment

Question​ Answer 1​ Answer 2​ Answer 3​ Answer 4​ Correct answer​ Correct explanation​ Page id​ Part of Pre-test​ Part of Post-test​
What should be done if a patient dials the 99DOTS toll-free number and hears “Thank You”, but the Nikshay dashboard is still showing red? Tell the patient that they lied as they did not take their medication. Check that there are no errors in the patient’s phone number on Nikshay. Check if the patient used an alternative number to call the toll-free line and register this dual line on Nikshay. Options 2 and 3 4 If a patient dials the 99DOTS toll-free number and hears “Thank You”, but the Nikshay dashboard is still showing red, then: Check that there are no errors in the patient’s phone number on Nikshay, also check if the patient used an alternative number to call the toll-free line and register this number on Nikshay.      

 

 

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