AQIS has been provided additional information and clarification from the
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) regarding Notice of Adverse
Benefit Determination (NOABD) Termination Notices. Per DHCS and the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) a Termination NOABD is to
be issued regardless of the beneficiary’s agreement. The “adverse action” is
the MHP’s decision to discontinue services that have been previously
authorized. It is important to note that at this time the Interim Care Plan (ICP)
and the Care Plan (CP) documents are “authorizing” services, therefore any
changes to the provision of services during the authorized period will most
likely trigger an NOABD. AQIS will be providing additional training and
information regarding this directive. The effective date for all impacted
AOABH and CYPBH program will be February 3
rd
, 2020.
DECEMBER 2019 | VOL. 1 | NO. 8
QRTips
Behavioral Health Services
Authority and Quality Improvement Services
AOABH / CYPBH / Managed Care
Support Teams
TRAININGS & MEETINGS
AOABH
New Provider Training
(Documentation & Care Plan)
Only available online at:
AOABH New Provider Training
AOABH Core Trainers Meetings
County Core Trainers Meeting
December: Canceled
January: 1/2/20 10-11:30am Rm 433
Contract Core Trainers Meeting
December: Canceled
January: 1/9/20 1:30-3:00pm Rm 433
CYPBH Trainings
*Please see CYPBH Support Team
website for online trainings.
HELPFUL LINKS
AQIS AOABH Support Team
AQIS CYPBH Support Team
BHS Electronic Health Record
Medi-Cal Certification
Notice of Adverse Benefit Determination
(NOABD) - Termination
Action Required
Clinical Supervision Requirements
AQIS has been provided with more information regarding clinical
supervision coverage. The Responsibility Statement for Supervisors and other
required forms must be completed by each clinical supervisor even if
supervision was provided for only one unit of clinical supervision. It is
permissible for an Associate to not receive clinical supervision during a
week’s period of time and provide services as long as the clinical supervisor
is accessible or some clinical supervisor is accessible. However, such hours
would not count toward licensure and should not be included on any of the
forms.
Moving forward, to be in line with the BBS requirements, AQIS requests that
the Clinical Supervision Reporting Form and a copy of the BBS Responsibility
Statement for Supervisors be submitted for each clinical supervisor that will
be signing off on the hours toward licensure. Please submit the required
documents to AQISManagedCare@ochca.com and be sure to indicate
“Clinical Supervision” in the subject line.
Since 2012, California set out to change the way services were provided to children and non-minor
dependents in the foster care system through what is known as the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). In
2015, Assembly Bill 403 was introduced with a framework to ensure children and youth be provided with
services and supports to help them return to a permanent family through adoption or guardianship to
counter the use of long-term group home care. Part of this change required existing group homes to
transform into a Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) effective January 1, 2017. Children
and youth who are not ready to live with families would receive short term, intensive treatment through
the STRTP with the goal of preparing them to step down to a less restrictive and more stable and
permanent family setting.
In order to operate as an STRTP, a group home must obtain a provisional license through the Department
of Health Care Services (DHCS), have a contract as a provider with the Orange County Health Care
Agency, have a Mental Health Program Approval from DHCS, and be Medi-Cal certified (HCA – BHS).
Due to the nature of the intensive services being provided in a short period of time (6 months) by the
STRTP, documentation of Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) may be challenging due to
multiple timeline requirements. AQIS will be providing more detailed documentation guidance and
reminders in January 2020. Please stay tuned for the January 2020 QRTips!
The Short Doyle/Medi-Cal Provider Certification & Re-Certification Protocol indicates that the MHP county
and contract providers must maintain a safe facility per Title 9 regulations.
Category 3 (Physical Plant) states the following:
Is the facility and its property clean, sanitary, and in good repair? Free from hazards that might pose a danger
to the beneficiary?
Tour Facility: Observe the building and grounds for actual and potential hazards (e.g. loose or torn carpeting,
electrical cords that might pose a hazard).
Please address potential tripping hazards (inside and outside the facility) as soon as possible.
AQIS would like to remind all Medi-Cal certified programs to immediately communicate any and all
concerns related to Medi-Cal certification to the AQIS Medi-Cal Certification Team as well as the AQIS
Support Teams. Questions can be sent to AQISmccert@ochca.com.
Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) – Part 1
Medi-Cal Certification/Re-Certification Reminders
CYPBH ONLY
A Note to Chart is a very brief administrative document to note non-clinical activity that is relevant to the
client’s care. It is activity that should be documented in the chart, but the content of which does not meet the
criteria for a Progress Note. Such activities may include simply documenting a no-show to a scheduled
appointment or leaving and/or receiving a phone message.
It is important to note that it is best practice to document all activities that are provided on behalf of, and
relevant to the client’s care, in a manner that illustrates the quality of care we are expected to deliver. Please
also remember that Note to Chart documents do not generate any Units of Service and do not appear on the
EOC Last DOS Report.
Please stay tuned for “Note to Chart Documentation Guidelines” with more details and examples, which will
be posted on the BHS EHR Blog.
Please avoid copying and pasting content
in documentation as it may lead to
inaccurate notes and over-documentation.
Clinical documentation should be concise
and should only contain information that
is true and relevant for that particular
session/service. It is also important to note
that documentation time billed should
accurately reflect the time it took to
compose the progress note.
Note to Chart
AQIS SUPPORT TEAMS
AOABH
714.834.5601
AQIS AOABH Support Manager
Kelly K Sabet, LCSW, AMII
AQIS AOABH Support Service Chief
Mary Malady, LCSW, SCII
ASO / Special Projects
Christine Min, LCSW
Contract
Susan Randhawa, LCSW
Brenda Truong, LCSW
County / Crisis Recovery Services
Blanca Rosa Ayala, LMFT
Sarah Kang, LMFT
Jessica Rycroft, LMFT
Support Staff
Araceli Cueva, SA
Sharon Hoang, SA
Kandee Tran, SA
CYPBH
714.834.5601
AQIS CYPBH Support Manager
Vacant
AQIS CYPBH Support Service Chief
BlancaRosa Craig, LMFT, SCII
Audit Staff
Luis Arevalo, Ph.D.
Asmeret Hagos, LMFT
Tim Hoang, Psy.D.
Mark Lum, Psy.D.
Cheryl Pitts, LCSW
Chris Uyeno, LCSW
Contract Consultants
Selma Silva, Psy.D.
Medi-Cal Certifications
Chris Uyeno, LCSW
Support Staff
Irene Adams, OS
Elizabeth Martinez, SA
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DHCS Triennial Audit:
12/10/2019 – 12/12/2019
REMINDERS
Service Chiefs and Supervisors,
please document the review of
QRTips in staff meetings. Thank
you!
Managed Care
714.834.6624
AQIS MCST Support Manager
Vacant
(Kelly K Sabet, LCSW, AMII covering)
BHCII Staff
Elaine Estrada, LCSW
Sara Fekrati, LMFT
Chung M Nguyen, LCSW
Elizabeth Sobral, LMFT
Staci Ziegler, LMFT
Vacant
Vacant
Support Staff
Vacant
Vacant
Vacant
County EHR Clinics ONLY
Copying and Pasting
