October 25, 2016 

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has developed the structure of the first comprehensive Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) Performance Dashboards and is preparing them for publication in accordance with the DHCS Public Aggregate Reporting Guidelines to protect patient privacy.  DHCS is in communication with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the timeframe for posting the statewide aggregate and county-specific Performance Dashboards. DHCS intends to have the statewide aggregate dashboard published on the DHCS website by December 31, 2016. Following publication of the statewide aggregate dashboard, the county-specific dashboards will be published on the DHCS and MHP websites on a flow basis beginning January 2017.       

The statewide aggregate and county-specific Performance Dashboards will each include two sets of charts and tables. The first set will focus on various demographics of children and youth age 0 through 20 and the second set will focus on the same data elements for adults age 21 and older. The reports will be based on approved claims data for specialty mental health services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Tables will include demographics of children and youth, and adult and older adult populations by age, gender, race, and ethnicity.  Service utilization data will be displayed by dollar amount and units of service.  Two types of penetration rate information will be provided, categorized by demographic characteristics.  Additionally, tables will include a point-in-time “snapshot” of populations entering, exiting, and continuing services over a two-year period.  Time-to-step-down tables will provide data covering the past four years of the time-to-step-down services following psychiatric inpatient discharge.  The 2016 Performance Dashboards will provide trend information by displaying information for Fiscal Years 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2015-15.  Subsequent MHP Performance Dashboards will also include updated and additional information as new complete fiscal year data becomes available, and new data elements are added.