On 10th December 2024, health service providers were sent the Operational Direction (Data Submission Requirements for the Mental Health and Addictions Sector) by their respective Ontario Health Chief Regional Officers. The information and resources provided below are to assist health service providers in understanding this Operational Direction and begin complying with its requirements.
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Understanding the Operational Direction (Data Submission Requirements for the Mental Health and Addictions Sector)
What is the MHA PDS?
The Mental Health & Addictions Provincial Data Set (MHA PDS) is a minimum set of routinely collected, client level, standardized data elements that support direct service delivery and enable consistent and comparable reporting of service utilization, client outcomes & client characteristics across the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions sector. The collection of this data will enable frontline providers and system-level planners to make evidence-based clinical, funding, and service planning decisions.
What must service providers do to comply with this operational direction?
Moving forward, data submission for the MHA PDS will be required provincially for all community mental health and addictions health service providers receiving funding from the Ministry of Health or Ontario Health for adult community and/or outpatient mental health and addictions programs.
Service providers must determine how they plan to begin submitting the MHA PDS and submit their plan to Ontario Health by December 10, 2025.
Service providers must begin submitting to the MHA PDS by December 10, 2026.
What is the direction for OHIP number collection?
"Health card number" will be a mandatory data element within the MHA PDS; therefore, service providers will be expected to collect this information from their clients. Low-barrier health services, such as crisis intervention and peer support, are generally exempted from this direction. Clients unable or unwilling to provide a health card number will not be denied service.
Does this direction apply to my organization?
Health service providers funded under community mental health and addiction functional centres (see full list here) will be required to submit the MHA PDS.
Most health service providers will submit the MHA PDS through a PDS-compliant client management system (CaseWORKS, CRMS, EMHware or TREAT). Alternate submission options may be offered to organizations that receive only a small amount of community MHA funding compared to their overall budget (e.g. some community health centres).
What is required of my organization to comply with this operational direction?
If your organization already uses CRMS, CaseWORKS (VitalHub), EMHware or TREAT (VitalHub) to manage your MHA clients and programs please submit a plan indicating your intention to (a) use your existing client management system to submit the MHA PDS. The DATIS Service Desk team will work with Ontario Health and your vendor to coordinate the onboarding process.
If you are not currently using one of the PDS-compliant vendors listed above, you may need to procure a new system in order to submit the MHA PDS. You can learn more about each vendor solution by attending the vendor-specific MHA PDS Communities of Practice. While you are considering your options for a PDS-compliant vendor please submit a plan indicating your intention to (b) migrate to a new client management system to submit the MHA PDS. You can update your plan after you have selected your vendor.
If you are a public hospital using a health information system (HIS), or you have access to an HIS through your partnership with a hospital, please you may submit (c) a plan indicating your interest in building an independent submission solution meeting all applicable data/security standards. Hospitals may also choose to submit through a compliant client management system if preferred.
If you believe you are eligible to (d) submit a flat file of the MHA PDS due to the limited scope of your MHA programming, please select this option.
I need more support
Our team at DATIS is here to ensure a seamless process from start to finish. We provide support with the following:
- Information sessions about the provincial data set and how to get started
- Coordination of all necessary paperwork, legal agreements and access to resources
- Status updates for providers to ensure onboarding is on track
- Answers to questions before, during and after onboarding
- Support in working closely with compliant vendors to intake and escalate technical issues and question
To access these services, providers will be asked to register for PDS Service Desk.
Data Champions: Ontario Health has partnered with Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Ontario, Addiction & Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) and Mental Health Partners to champion the adoption of the Mental Health & Addiction Provincial Data Set. Resources have been developed by these Data Champions to assist with MHA PDS onboarding and related initiatives.
Set up your Service Desk account here
Will Catalyst be a PDS-compliant system?
The Catalyst application, used to submit data to the Drug & Alcohol Treatment Information System (DATIS) for addictions programs, is not a compliant client management system and will not be made compliant. Health service providers who use Catalyst will need to move to a compliant system or work with Ontario Health to determine the best way to become compliant with the operational direction (e.g., through partnerships with other organizations).
Health service providers who are successfully collecting the provincial data set through a compliant vendor
client management system will no longer be required to submit data through the Catalyst application.
