March 19, 2026
Following are this week’s updates. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
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In-Person Conference: Register Now, May 19 & 20
Join CalMHSA’s EHR team for an in-person conference featuring tools you can use during this time of behavioral health transformation. Sessions are designed to address changes and requirements in behavioral health — with an emphasis on practical tips, tactical guidance, and real-world approaches to using SmartCare.
When & Where
- May 19, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. with evening reception
- May 20, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Location: Doubletree Hotel, Sacramento, CA
- Cost: $300 per person
Learn, Engage, and Explore
- Datapalooza: Making BHSA Work for You
- ISL: Cracking the Code on Reporting
- The Future of Care Coordination
- Interoperability Milestones & Solutions
- Measuring Effectiveness of AI Tools
- All Things ASCMI & Early Adopter Reflections
- Patient Portal Options in IntelliChart
- Counting Homelessness Under BHSA
- Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication
- Enhanced Insights with Dashboards
- Fiscal Tools for BHSA Initiatives
- AI-Assisted Note Taking Demonstration
Evidence–Based Practice / Service Strategy Updates Improve Flexibilit
An update has been deployed to all county production systems that:
- Supports reporting of up to three evidence-based practice/service strategy values (as required in CSI files)
- Allows multiple responses to be map to a single CSI code
- Excludes responses that are not mapped to a CSI value
This improved flexibility allows the Evidence Based Practices dropdown, enabling it to better support values beyond those defined within the CSI Data Dictionary and expanding its use for other service-level reporting.
Updated NACT 274 Provider Caseload Calculation
A new NACT 274 provider caseload calculation has been deployed to all county production systems. This new algorithm, which has been a focus topic during state reporting office hours, uses staff and program-level flags to support mental health and substance use disorder caseload calculations. It also provides county admins with five configuration keys to tailor their systems for their unique data needs. Counties must ensure all programs and keys are properly set before their next submission on April 10.
Edits to an ASCMI Form Now Require New Form Creation
Effective immediately, if an ASCMI form needs any sort of edit, even minor, a new form will need to be created. This new requirement is a result of SmartCare not differentiating between minor and major edits, which can create issues when pushing to the DHCS Consent Management Platform.
ASCMI Form Available in SmartCare, CCC Deactivation March 31
As a reminder, the new ASCMI form is available in SmartCare for immediate use. Counties should begin using the ASCMI form to document a client’s consent decision regarding the sharing of protected health information.
Please note that the current Coordinated Care Consent (CCC) form will remain available in SmartCare through March 31 to allow for an orderly transition. After March 31, the CCC form will be deactivated in SmartCare, and organizations should fully transition to the ASCMI form for all applicable use cases.
Additional ASCMI guidance , including recordings of two webinars, FAQs and other resources we recently offered, are available on the website. If you have questions or feedback to share, please reach out to [email protected].
Upcoming Initiatives
See the EHR Product Team’s upcoming initiatives in this list, updated as products and priorities evolve.
CalMHSA EHR Initiative Report 3-19-26.
Events Calendar
To register for events, visit the events page.