January 9, 2025
Following are this week’s updates. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
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SmartCare RX Surescripts Server Maintenance
Surescripts will perform critical server maintenance on Jan. 9 from 6-7 p.m. (PT).
Impact: SmartCare RX will be accessible and counties can write RX scripts. However, RX scripts sent during Jan. 9 from 6-7 p.m. will be queued and will process after 7 p.m.
No impact: All SmartCare Production environments will be accessible during this maintenance. CalMHSA/Dr’s First RX will not be impacted by this maintenance.
All Day In-Person EHR Workshop in May – Express Your Interest
CalMHSA is planning to host a one-day, in-person workshop for participating EHR counties in May in either Ventura or Oxnard. The conference will focus on billing, state reporting, and clinical topics presented in a two-track format. To finalize the venue and planning, we hope to gauge counties’ interest in attending.
Please let us know by Jan. 22 if your county will attend by following this link.
The tentative conference agenda is:
7:30 – 8:30 a.m.: Check In/ Breakfast – All tracks
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.: Welcome/Intro – All tracks
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.:
- Session 1a: Billing/State Reporting track
- Session 1b: Clinical track
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- Session 2a: Billing/State Reporting track
- Session 2b: Clinical track
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch – All tracks
1:30 – 3 p.m.
- Session 3a: Billing/State Reporting track
- Session 3b: Clinical track
3 – 4:30 p.m.
- Session 4a: Billing/State Reporting track
- Session 4b: Clinical track
4:30 pm – Conclude
CalMHSA Rx Demo Reminder
Two upcoming information sessions will demonstrate CalMHSA Rx, the EHR’s new pharmacy integration solution. CalMHSA Rx utilizes the industry leading Rcopia platform developed by DrFirst and integrates it into SmartCare to allow for a more seamless experience when caring for clients.
Please invite your county’s key decision makers — medical staff, medical directors, nursing supervisors, etc. — to the demo, and use the links below to register for one of the two sessions:
Jan. 14 at 2:30 p.m. – Register
Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. – Register
We understand that some interested county staff may not be able to attend one of the two demo sessions. However, registering even if you’re unable to attend will enable you to receive all follow-up information about the demonstrations.
Updated Maintenance Process: Improved Notifications, Reduced Downtime
Recent improvements to SmartCare’s maintenance process aim to reduce downtime and enhance communication to better support county operations. Among the key changes are:
- Reduced downtime across all counties: As recent system improvements have significantly reduced maintenance downtime, counties can expect downtime to be less than two hours. Maintenance will continue to be scheduled during the 12-6 a.m. window to minimize disruption.
- Improved notification process: Email notifications will be sent at both the beginning and end of each maintenance event.
To ensure your team receives notifications, please send an email distribution list to [email protected].
Feedback on Changes to ePrescribing Documents Requested by Jan. 23
On Nov. 22, 2024, CalMHSA presented information to counties about the use of ePrescribing software and Title 42 CFR Part 2 programs, including the issue of not being able to CDAG medications. During the webinar, CalMHSA proposed minor changes to the Coordinated Care Consent and Consent to Treat documents. CalMHSA has not yet received any feedback about those changes; counties that wish to provide feedback are requested to do so by Jan. 23. If no feedback is received, CalMHSA will make the proposed changes on Jan. 24. The full presentation has been documented in this protocol.
Seeking Feedback on Clinician Supervisor User Role, Services (My Office)
In response to concerns that the clinician supervisor user role has access to the Services (My Office) and Service Detail screens, CalMHSA is considering removing these permissions. To accommodate all needs, an add-on user role has been created for Services (My Office) and can be used to add this functionality to any user.
Before the permissions are removed, CalMHSA would like to hear feedback from counties. Please complete this survey by Jan. 23. CalMHSA will analyze the results and confirm the decision in the Jan. 30 Bulletin.
New Configuration Key Addresses Issues in Selecting Staff Users
Please note that a new configuration key (“DisplayStaffAsTypeableSearchTextBox”) allows counties to change the field type for selecting staff users from a dropdown to a typeable search field. Until now, that field has, by default, been a dropdown; however, this can tax the system’s resources if the number of staff users is excessively large.
CalMHSA recommends that large counties change this configuration key value to “Yes” to address these potential issues. Smaller counties may also want to make this change, even if they are not experiencing any issues with speed. More information on this key can be found in the Knowledge Base.
Bypassing Height/Weight Requirement for Pediatric Medications
Counties have requested a way to bypass the requirement to record height and/or weight for a pediatric patient while maintaining the ability to order medications from SmartCare’s Medication Rx (e.g., cannot obtain due to telehealth visit, medication is not weight based, etc.). To accomplish this, counties can set the configuration at Configuration Keys for “ShowMsgWhenHeightWeightIsMissingInRx = Yes.”
This will allow for scenarios where:
- Client is 18 years or younger, and
- Client has no Height and/or Weight Flow Sheet entry, or
- Client’s most recent Height and/or Weight Flow Sheet entry is six months ago or more.
When a prescriber orders a medication, they will then see a pop-up that allows them to choose a reason to bypass entering height and weight.
Nightly Billing Job Errors
CalMHSA has communicated individually with fiscal billing leads for each county about clean-up efforts for the issue in steps 9 and 11 of the nightly billing jobs. As a reminder, CalMHSA advises against performing the following actions until the clean-up script has been executed in the Production environment:
- Sending client statements
- Creating claim files for submission without using the Charge Creation Date filer to exclude charges created between Dec. 8 and Dec. 24, 2024
Please contact [email protected] and [email protected] with any questions.
Short Doyle Instructions for Requesting DRC 9 for Replacement Claims
The Local Governmental Financing Division released guidance to counties on Dec. 12, 2024, on how to request a Delay Reason Code 9 for replacement claims due to CalAIM claiming challenges. CalMHSA encourages all counties to take advantage of the revised guidance for applicable claims.
The documentation for this process can be found under System Documentation in the DHCS portal. Instructions on how to add a Delay Reason Code to claims can be found in the Knowledge Base. Questions can be directed to [email protected] and [email protected].
CARE Act Claiming Report Updated
Please note that the CARE Act Claiming Report has been updated to include all the new CARE Act Hearing procedure codes.
Connexing the Dots: Enhancing Care Through Closed Loop Referrals
Learn more about closed loop referrals through Connex at a webinar on Jan. 22, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The session will feature a live demonstration, opportunity for Q&A, and extra time allotted for other interoperability updates. Register here.
This Week’s Production Updates
New functionality in the EHR – and what you need to know about it – is available here.
Upcoming Initiatives
See the EHR Product Team’s ambitious upcoming initiatives in this list, updated weekly as products and priorities evolve — and sortable by topics like medical, clinical billing and more.