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Acting Commissioner Kristin M. Woodlock, RN, MPA
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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About PSYCKES

About PSYCKES | Data and Information Security | Training 

About Psychiatric Services and Clinical Knowledge Enhancement System (PSYCKES)

The Psychiatric Services and Clinical Knowledge Enhancement System for Medicaid (PSYCKES-Medicaid) is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant, web-based portfolio of tools designed to support quality improvement and clinical decision-making in the New York State (NYS) Medicaid population.  Providers with access to PSYCKES are able to access a portfolio of quality indicator reports at the state, region, county, agency, site, program, and client level to review performance, identify individuals who could benefit from clinical review, and inform treatment planning.  Quality reports in PSYCKES are updated monthly, and clinical information is updated weekly.

Developed by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), PSYCKES uses administrative data from the NYS Medicaid claims database to generate quality indicators and summarize treatment histories.  This administrative data is collected when providers bill Medicaid for services.  All states are required by the Federal Government to monitor the quality of their Medicaid programs, and many states are using administrative data such as Medicaid claims to support quality improvement initiatives. Quality indicators were developed in consultation with a Scientific Advisory Committee of national experts in psychopharmacology and a Stakeholder Advisory Committee of providers, family members, consumers, and professionals.  Since all reports are based on Medicaid data, no data entry by providers is required. 

PSYCKES Data and Information Security

PSYCKES uses data from state administrative databases to generate its reports. The New York State Department of Health and Office of Mental Health have a Memorandum of Understanding through which PSYCKES has access to claims data for Medicaid enrollees with a mental health service, diagnosis, or psychotropic medication. Access to Medicaid data in PSYCKES requires registration through an on-line Security Management System and an OMH-issued security token.

Under the auspices of the NYS Department of Health Drug Utilization Review Board, which is charged with overseeing the quality and safety of the NYS Medicaid program, PSYCKES releases certain protected health information (PHI) to agencies on individuals served by its programs whose medication regimens raise potential quality or safety concerns, as flagged by the PSYCKES quality indicators.  This is in compliance with HIPAA and other regulations regarding PHI, which allow for release of data to support coordination of care.  Agencies are not able to view PHI for clients served at their programs who do not have a quality flag without consent.  In addition, certain categories of protected information, including data associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status, family planning, and substance abuse, are not displayed in PSYCKES without client consent.  OMH has developed a consent module that allows providers to obtain consent from consumers for access to their Medicaid data, including information with special protections.

PSYCKES Training

The Office of Mental Health (OMH) has developed a number of resources to support PSYCKES users, including a User’s Guide PDF (5.7mb) and on-line training through Webinars.

Comments or questions about the information on this page can be directed to the PSYCKES Team.