August 27, 2026
Following are this week’s updates. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
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Monthly Server Maintenance Aug. 30
Monthly server maintenance will take place between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. PST on Sunday, Aug. 30. The SmartCare application will be unavailable during this window. Please plan accordingly and notify staff as needed. Questions and concerns can be directed to the CalMHSA EHR Help Desk.
ISL Procedure Code Change
The “ISL Non-Billable Service Must Document” procedure code will revert to its original name and code, “Non-Billable Service Must Document,” and a new “ISL Non-Billable Service” procedure code will be added Friday, Aug. 28. Counties are encouraged to sunset use of the “Non-Billable Service Must Document” code and use the new “ISL Non-Billable Service” code for all activity related to ISL encounters.
May/June MSP Deployment Targeted for Sept. 15
The May/June MSP is now targeted for deployment on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Note that this shifts from the usual Monday deployment schedule due to a Streamline offshore holiday.
The release notes are available on the knowledge base.
Demographic Fields Cleanup: County Feedback Requested
Counties previously indicated that demographic fields in SmartCare were confusing, contained inappropriate values, or were missing key data. CalMHSA began work to address these issues but paused to prioritize compliance with the requirement for all EHRs to adopt USCDI v3 as the baseline standard, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Since then, the CalMHSA EHR team has worked with Streamline, the CalMHSA Connex Team, and the CalMHSA Data Team (Compass and Collective) to complete this project.
This memo outlines the resulting plan of action and requests county feedback prior to implementation.
SmartCare Preparations for ISL Reporting
CalMHSA continues to work on the functionality, configuration, and workflows needed to prepare counties for required Individual Service-Level (ISL) encounter reporting, beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Changes are focused on three key areas:
- ISL data capture and EHR configuration, including ISL codes, required encounter data elements, data capture workflows (e.g., batch service upload template), and related SmartCare configuration
- ISL data reporting, including development of functionality to generate and validate DHCS-compliant ISL encounter submissions
- Submission management, including processes to support corrections, replacement or void submissions, reconciliation, and ongoing data quality
An update on the timeline will be provided in mid-September. Specific functionality, availability dates, and county implementation steps are evolving as development and testing continue. Counties do not need to take action at this time.
Supplemental Program Offerings
Supplemental program offerings are also available to support counties with ISL implementation, including:
- Assignment of ISL codes to Programs
- State Reporting
Counties can contact their account manager for more information.
Additional information will be provided to SmartCare counties as implementation decisions are finalized, including:
- SmartCare configuration and workflow guidance
- County implementation actions and timelines
- Training and how-to resources
- Information about any optional services or county cost considerations, as applicable
SmartCare-related ISL questions and implementation requests will continue to be shared with and tracked by the EHR team as implementation work progresses. ISL inquiries can be submitted through the ticketing system.
Diagnosis Document / Problem List Push-Pull Functionality
Counties may choose to enable the configuration key for ‘DisplayPullProblemListsButtonAndPushProblemListsCheckboxOnCoreDxDoc.’ To do so, set the key value to ‘yes,’ which adds two features to the Diagnosis Document:
- A Pull From Client Clinical Problems List button
- A Push To Client Clinical Problems List button
The Pull From Client Clinical Problems List button will pull the list of active problems from the Client Clinical Problems screen for addition to the Diagnosis screen. The Push To Client Clinical Problems List checkbox will allow the active diagnosis to be pushed to the Client Clinical Problems screen.
This feature is available at the county level and is disabled by default; counties may enable it based on workflow and business needs.
Enabling this feature may create duplicate problems, as the system checks duplicates only within the same program. CalMHSA had previously recommended against enabling this feature; however, several counties requested it, and the decision was left to individual counties. The problem list will continue to display only problems a user is authorized to view.
Upcoming Initiatives
See the EHR Product Team’s upcoming initiatives in this list, updated as products and priorities evolve.
CalMHSA EHR Initiative Report 8-27-26.
Events Calendar
To register for events, visit the events page.