February and March MSPs in QA

February and March MSPs are now available in QA systems for testing. Detailed information about changes has been segmented into three parts, available in these links: February, Part 1 and Part 2; March, Part 1 and Part 2.

Please encourage key members of your team to review and test any relevant item(s). To aid review of these build release items, below is a guide to the color-coding used in the attached documents:

• Green: Changes have been tested and deployed to production as part of a prior hotfix build. No need to test (unless you would like to double-check the changes).
• Pink: Changes that CalMHSA is testing; no need for county testing unless there is specific interest. However, background information may be missing without access to internal communications.
• Yellow: New functionality introduced to the system. Anything not highlighted in pink is not directly related to one of the CalMHSA tasks but could be worthwhile to review.
• Strikethrough: Changes in functionalities not being used by CalMHSA or its supported counties.

New Prop. 36 Special Population Category

CalMHSA has received a county request to create a special population category for Prop. 36 (signed in 2024; not the Prop. 36 from 2000.] This information does not seem to be tracked elsewhere, so CalMHSA is planning to create this special population.

The law is unclear about whether this is an SUD or non-SUD special population type, as the “treatment program may include, but is not limited to, drug treatment, mental health treatment, job training, and any other conditions related to treatment or a successful outcome for the defendant that the court finds appropriate.” (California HSC §11395(d)(2)). This may be determined based on how each county implements the rule. Therefore, CalMHSA will create a special population that encompasses both SUD and non-SUD called “Prop 26 (2024).”

This change will be added on May 15. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

Soliciting Feedback on Configuration of Methadone Day Service Procedure 

CalMHSA is seeking feedback on a proposed modification to the Methadone Day Service procedure, changing it to be recorded as days rather than units. This would allow for the entry of multiple days at once in Service Entry.

When entering services into SmartCare, the service time will be used to calculate the number of days for the service. The 837 claim file will send the range of days entered, ensuring proper adjudication. This proposal will be discussed during the Billing Office hours on May 8, to determine whether the change should be implemented in production environments.

This Week’s Production Updates

New functionality in the EHR – and what you need to know about it – is available here.