Getting Started on the PMHC MDS

My organisation already reports to the PMHC MDS

If you are a new user at a Provider Organisation that already reports data to the PMHC MDS, you will need to be invited to have access to the PMHC MDS. An existing user with the User Management role can complete this. Your provider organisation may have staff with this capability; otherwise, your commissioning PHN can manage user accounts and roles.

If your Provider Organisation is uploading data, you will need to request the ‘Upload’ role.

If your Provider Organisation is manually entering data, you will need to request the ‘Data Entry’ role.

If you are unsure who to contact at your PHN please contact the PMHC MDS Helpdesk.

Once your user account has been created and you have been granted the appropriate role, you are ready to upload/enter data.

My organisation has recently been contracted and needs to start reporting data to the PMHC MDS

Your commissioning organisation will organise for your Provider Organisation to be set up in the PMHC MDS by a PHN. This will create your reporting “Organisation Path”.

Step 1. Review the contexts for which you need to submit data

Within the PMHC MDS there are three contexts in which data can be submitted. These are explained in the Contexts section of the core Data Specification.

Each organisation will need to report the relevant data for each context in which their organisation provides commissioned services. For example, an organisation that is only providing Intake services will only need to provide Intake context records, not Treatment context. Similarly, organisations only providing treatment services will only need to provide Treatment context records, not Intake context.

The Program Types that your organisation is providing may also influence which records you need to provide.

In conjunction with your PHN, you will need to analyse the data requirements for your organisation.

Step 2. Decide whether to upload or manually enter data

Check in with your PHN before making this decision as they may have local requirements, otherwise each organisation will need to decide which method they will use.

Data can either be uploaded via a file or through a data entry interface.

For organisations that don’t have a compatible internal Client Management System (CMS), users can enter their data directly into the PMHC MDS via online data entry forms. For more information on how to enter data manually please refer to the User Documentation.

Alternatively, organisations can upload their data where they have an internal Client Management System (CMS) with the ability to generate PMHC MDS formatted upload files, or where their CMS can be updated to generate these files.

For more information about upload file formats please refer to the Upload specification.

For more information on how to upload a file please refer to the User Documentation.

To assist developers of Client Information Management Systems interact with the components of the PMHC MDS, please visit Third Party Developers Resources.

Step 3. Update client forms

Before uploading or entering data, each Provider Organisation, in conjunction with their PHN, will need to update their client forms in order to collect all the data required for the PMHC MDS. Please refer to the data specification and notes on creating forms.

Step 4. Obtain an account on the PMHC MDS

Please refer to My organisation already reports to the PMHC MDS above.

Training and online user guide

The PMHC MDS offers various options for users to learn how to navigate and use the PMHC MDS.

Resources

Additional documentation and resources, including user guides, data specifications and FAQ are available at the PMHC MDS documentation website.