Telephony allows caregivers to clock in and clock out of scheduled visits by calling a designated phone number and following automated prompts.
Each agency using telephony is assigned a dedicated phone number. When a caregiver calls, the system identifies the appropriate agency, determines which visit or visits may be eligible for clock-in or clock-out, and guides the caller through the process.
Which Number Should I Call?
Each office has its own dedicated telephony phone number.
Caregivers must call the telephony number assigned to their office. The system identifies the agency and office based on the number that was dialed, so calling another office’s telephony number may prevent the system from finding the correct visit.
If you are unsure which number to use, contact your office.
Which Phone Should I Call From?
Whenever possible, call from the client’s home phone.
When a call is received, the system first checks whether the phone number matches a client phone number on file. If no client match is found, it checks whether the number matches the caregiver’s phone number.
Both the client’s phone and the caregiver’s phone can be used to record a punch. However, calling from the client’s home phone provides additional verification that the caregiver was at the client’s location at the time of the call.
If you call from your cell phone and your number is recognized, you can still complete your clock-in or clock-out.
How the Call Works
1. Emergency Prompt
At the beginning of every call, the system asks whether the call is an emergency.
Press 1 for Yes.
Press 2 for No.
If you press 1, the call is transferred to your office and no punch is recorded.
The emergency option works even when you are calling from a phone number that is not recognized by the system.
2. Caller Identification
If the call is not an emergency, the system uses the phone number the caller is calling from to help identify the appropriate client, caregiver, and visit.
For visits that require Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), the call may need to be placed from the client's designated telephony phone number.
If the system cannot confidently identify the caller or an eligible visit, the caller will not be able to complete the clock-in or clock-out by phone.
If the system cannot identify the number, you will hear:
“We could not find an account for this number. Goodbye.”
The call will then end.
This may happen if:
The phone number is not on file.
A phone number is shared by more than one client and the system cannot determine which client is associated with the call.
If this happens, contact your office for assistance clocking in or out
3. Identifying Eligible Visits
After identifying the caller, the system looks for visits that are currently eligible for clock-in or clock-out.
This may include:
Upcoming visits that are within the allowed clock-in timeframe.
Visits currently in progress and eligible for clock-out.
Recently started visits that remain within the allowed clock-out timeframe.
Clock-in may be available up to 3 hours before the scheduled visit start time. Three hours is the default and maximum early clock-in window. An agency may choose to shorten this window in its workspace settings.
The same scheduling and eligibility rules used elsewhere in Careswitch continue to apply to telephony.
If you call before the visit is eligible, or there is no visit currently available for clock-in or clock-out, you will hear:
“There is no shift available to clock in or out right now. Goodbye.”
The call will then end.
4. Selecting a Visit
If you are already clocked in to an eligible visit, that visit is offered for clock-out before other visits that may be available for clock-in.
For clock-out, you will hear:
“You are currently clocked in to your shift with [client]. Press 1 to clock out, or press 2 to cancel.”
For clock-in, you will hear:
“This will clock you in with [client] at [time]. Press 1 to confirm, or press 2 to cancel.”
Press 1 to continue with the clock-in or clock-out.
Press 2 to cancel. If you cancel, you will hear:
“Okay, no punch was recorded. Goodbye.”
If multiple visits are available and there is no in-progress visit to clock out of, the system provides a menu with up to nine available options. Each option identifies the applicable visit so you can select the correct one using your phone keypad.
5. Completing the Clock-In or Clock-Out
After the caller selects and confirms the visit, Careswitch performs a final eligibility check before recording the action.
If the visit is still eligible, the clock-in or clock-out is recorded.
If something changed while you were on the call—for example, the visit was reassigned—the punch may not be recorded. The system will provide a spoken message if it cannot complete the action.
6. Confirmation
After a successful clock-in or clock-out, the caller hears a confirmation such as:
"You are clocked in with [client name]. Goodbye."
or
"You are clocked out with [client name]. Goodbye."
If the action cannot be completed, the caller will hear an appropriate message explaining that the clock-in or clock-out was unsuccessful.
Telephony Clock-In and Clock-Out Rules
Telephony follows the standard Careswitch clock-in and clock-out rules, with a few differences designed for the phone-based experience.
When using telephony:
Standard clock-in and clock-out time restrictions still apply.
Signature collection is not required during the phone call.
Early or late visit explanations are not collected through telephony.
The system records that the visit was clocked in or out using telephony.
The phone number used to place the call is recorded with the clock event.
The client signature is recorded as unobtainable when clocking out through telephony.
Any care summary the caregiver entered in Careswitch while the visit was in progress is retained.
Clock-outs completed through telephony also trigger the same applicable post-visit processes as other clock-outs, including notifications, shift exceptions, travel-related processing, and applicable late-visit alerts.
How Phone Punches Appear in Careswitch
Office staff can identify visits that were clocked in or out using telephony.
In the visit’s activity feed, phone-based punches appear as:
Clocked in by phone
Clocked out by phone
This allows office administrators to distinguish telephony punches from clock-ins and clock-outs completed through other methods.
For Agencies Using Sandata EVV
Note: This section only applies to agencies that use Sandata EVV. If your agency does not use Sandata, you will not be prompted to enter a PIN.
For agencies connected to Sandata, telephony information is included with the EVV visit information sent to Sandata.
This may include:
The phone number used to place the telephony call.
The caregiver's Sandata Employee ID used for PIN verification.
Whether the clock-in or clock-out originated through telephony.
EVV visits completed through telephony are recorded without a mobile device location.
If a caregiver clocks in by phone and later clocks out using the Careswitch mobile experience, the original clock-in remains identified as a telephony clock-in.
EVV and PIN Verification
Some visits may require additional verification to meet EVV requirements.
For Sandata-enabled visits, caregivers may be asked to enter their 9-digit Sandata Employee ID as a PIN.
The employee's PIN can be found on their workforce profile in the Telephony PIN section.
The caller has up to three attempts to enter the correct PIN. If verification is unsuccessful after three attempts, the call ends without recording a clock-in or clock-out.
Visits that do not require EVV do not require a telephony PIN.
Client Phone Requirement
For visits requiring Sandata telephony verification, the call may need to originate from the client’s designated telephony phone number.
This allows the originating phone number to be included with the EVV information sent to Sandata.
For Sandata-enabled telephony visits, Careswitch may also include:
The phone number used to place the call.
The caregiver’s Sandata Employee ID used for verification.
Whether the visit was clocked in or out through telephony.
If a caregiver clocks in by phone and later clocks out using the Careswitch mobile experience, the original clock-in remains identified as a telephony clock-in.
Before Using Telephony for EVV Visits
For telephony to work successfully with EVV visits, agencies should ensure that:
Caregivers who require Sandata verification have a valid Sandata Employee ID.
Clients have the appropriate telephony phone number configured.
Caregivers understand that certain EVV visits must be clocked in or out from the client's designated phone number.
If the required caregiver or client information is missing, the visit may not be available for telephony clock-in or clock-out.