HIPAA compliant, BAA available

Measurement-Based Care for Pennsylvania Mental Health Teams

For outpatient clinics, HealthChoices network providers, community agencies and private practices from Philadelphia to Erie. Send validated scales by email or QR code, see them scored on submission, and follow each client's change on one chart as Pennsylvania moves toward measuring behavioural health outcomes. US customer data stays in Google Cloud US regions.

Schedule a WalkthroughBrowse assessments
HIPAA compliant, BAA available
Data hosted in the US
SOC 2 Type II
Scored on submission
100+
validated assessments
BAA
available to HIPAA covered entities
US
regions for US data
$25
per month

Pennsylvania Is Moving Toward Measuring Outcomes

  • Two developments in 2026 point Pennsylvania's public behavioural health system toward measuring how people are doing, not only which services they received. In the 2026 update to its Medicaid managed care quality strategy (a draft due to CMS in December 2026), the Department of Human Services says the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is running a performance improvement project from April 2026 to March 2029 on suicide prevention and community resiliency, focused on increasing depression screenings and suicide safety planning. HealthChoices primary contractors oversee that work by their behavioral health managed care organizations (BH-MCOs).

    On 5 August 2026, Governor Shapiro released the Behavioral Health Council Action Plan. Under its goal on accountability and transparency, the Council recommends a core set of process and outcome measures, naming symptom improvement scales as one example, collected and reported the same way by BH-MCOs, county programs and commercial insurers, with a central dashboard and an annual behavioural health quality report. The plan marks this recommendation as needing legislative action and funding, so it sets a direction rather than a rule.

    For a care team, the practical step is the same either way: a standard screen at intake and the same scales repeated during treatment, recorded so they can be counted. HiBoop gives you the PHQ-9, the C-SSRS Screener and the GAD-7, scored on submission and charted for each client, with exports for your own reports. It does not report to the state or to your BH-MCO on your behalf.

  • Depression Screening and Safety Planning

    The OMHSAS performance improvement project for HealthChoices, April 2026 to March 2029

  • A Core Set of Outcome Measures

    Recommended by the Behavioral Health Council in August 2026, pending legislation and funding

  • Follow-Up After Hospitalization

    Already a required measure in the Transitions to Community value-based model, alongside 30-day psychiatric readmission

All regions

What HiBoop Does for Pennsylvania Care Teams

  • Pennsylvania runs Medicaid behavioural health through its counties and their managed care organizations, and keeps its own rules on mental health records and on minors' consent. HiBoop handles the measurement and leaves the clinical call with you.

  • Screening at Intake, Safety Planning After

    Send the PHQ-9 before the first visit and see the scored result before you meet. The C-SSRS Screener sits beside it in the same library, so a positive screen can lead into your own safety planning conversation.

  • Change You Can Count

    Repeat the same scales across a course of treatment and each new score lands on one chart per client. Symptom change becomes a number your team can review in supervision, and the numbers inform your clinical judgement rather than replace it.

  • Exports for Your Own Reporting

    Export a client's score history as CSV or PDF for a treatment plan review, a records request or the measures your organization reports to its BH-MCO. Your whole account can be exported whenever you choose.

  • Mental Health and Substance Use Together

    Behavioral HealthChoices covers both mental health and drug and alcohol services. Depression, anxiety, trauma and substance use scales such as the ASSIST and TAPS sit in one library for co-occurring caseloads.

  • Agencies, Group Practices and Networks

    Team and Network plans give a multi-site agency or group practice one place for every clinician's caseload, with role-based access so staff see only what their role allows.

  • Scales for Adolescents

    Pennsylvania lets a young person aged 14 or older consent to their own outpatient mental health treatment. For youth services, HiBoop includes the PHQ-A for adolescent depression, the SCARED for child anxiety and the CRAFFT-2.1 for youth substance use.

Mental health in Pennsylvania

Research data

  • Each figure below links to the source it comes from.

  • 23.9%

    of Pennsylvania adults had any mental illness in the past year (model-based annual average, 2023-2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2023-2024

  • 17.3%

    of Pennsylvanians aged 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year (annual average, 2023-2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2023-2024

  • 25.5%

    of Pennsylvania adults received mental health treatment in the past year (2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2024

Research from Pennsylvania

  • Collaborative care in primary care

    Across 8 primary care practices in the Penn Integrated Care program, 6,124 patients were referred in 12 months; among those enrolled in collaborative care and assessed with validated measures, 32.6% with depression and 39.5% with anxiety reached remission.

    Wolk et al., Annals of Family Medicine, 2021 PMID 33685876

  • PHQ-9 and GAD-7 over a course of care

    In Penn Integrated Care data from 2018 to 2022, among 3,487 patients with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores at their first and last collaborative care visit, the share reporting suicidal ideation on PHQ-9 item 9 fell from 11% to 7%, and longer episodes were associated with larger drops in depression severity.

    Khazanov et al., BMC Primary Care, 2024 PMID 38970006

  • PHQ-9 screening in high schools

    In a randomized trial of 12,909 students at 14 Pennsylvania public high schools, universal PHQ-9 screening gave 5.92 times higher odds of identifying depression symptoms and 2.07 times higher odds of starting treatment than referral based on observed behaviour.

    Sekhar et al., JAMA Network Open, 2021 PMID 34739064

  • Depression care in primary care records

    A review of electronic health records for 38,321 adults with major depressive disorder managed in primary care at Geisinger found considerable variation in care after diagnosis, and more than 75% stopped antidepressant medication within 6 months.

    Larson et al., Journal of Affective Disorders, 2022 PMID 34953925

  • Measurement-based care in opioid treatment

    A University of Pittsburgh-led protocol, with Community Care Behavioral Health among its partners, describes a stepped-wedge trial comparing an enhanced measurement-based care implementation strategy with measurement as usual in Pennsylvania opioid treatment programs; it reports no results yet.

    Cloutier et al., Implementation Science, 2026 PMID 41723468

Where Measurement Fits in Pennsylvania's System

  • HiBoop is independent of these programs and bodies and does not connect to state systems. This is the context your county, BH-MCO and licensing board will know.

  • OMHSAS Performance Improvement Project

    2026 to 2029

    Federal rules require Medicaid managed care programs to run performance improvement projects. The OMHSAS cycle for HealthChoices runs from April 2026 to March 2029, studies suicide prevention and community resiliency, and focuses on increasing depression screenings and suicide safety planning. Primary contractors oversee their BH-MCOs' projects. The quality strategy does not name a required scale.

    Depression screeningSuicide safety planningHealthChoices

  • Behavioral Health Council Action Plan

    August 2026

    Created by Executive Order 2023-20, the Council published six goals and 41 recommendations. One recommendation under its accountability goal asks the state to define core mental health and substance use outcome measures with people who have lived experience, have BH-MCOs, counties and commercial insurers report them uniformly, and publish a dashboard and an annual quality report. It needs legislation and funding before it takes effect.

    RecommendationCore outcome measuresAnnual quality report

  • Behavioral HealthChoices

    Medicaid

    Medicaid mental health and drug and alcohol services are carved out from physical health. Counties, or entities they organize, hold the contract as primary contractors and work with a behavioral health managed care organization; members are assigned by county of residence and choose providers within that network. Counties must ensure quality care and timely access.

    County-basedFive BH-MCOsCarve-out

  • Licensed Professionals

    Department of State

    The State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors licenses social workers, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and professional counsellors, and the State Board of Psychology licenses psychologists. Facilities are licensed separately: mental health facilities by the Department of Human Services, substance use treatment facilities by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

    LCSW and LPCLMFTPsychologists

Care Teams Across Pennsylvania

  • HiBoop runs in the browser, so the same check-ins work in a Center City group practice and a telehealth caseload in the northern tier. Each line names the BH-MCO that DHS lists for the area's HealthChoices members.

  • Philadelphia

    Community Behavioral Health (CBH) is the BH-MCO for Philadelphia's HealthChoices members.

  • Pittsburgh and the Southwest

    Community Care Behavioral Health serves Allegheny and Greene, while Carelon Health of Pennsylvania serves Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette and neighbouring counties.

  • Lehigh Valley

    Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania serves Lehigh and Northampton, along with Bucks and Montgomery to the south.

  • Harrisburg and South Central

    PerformCare serves Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Franklin and Fulton, while York and Adams are with Community Care.

  • Scranton and the Northeast

    Community Care serves Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe.

  • Erie and the Northwest

    Community Care serves Erie, Warren and Forest, while Crawford, Mercer, Venango and Lawrence are with Carelon.

  • Rural and Appalachian Pennsylvania

    In the Alleghenies and the northern tier, Community Care serves counties such as Potter, Tioga, Clearfield and Cameron, and Magellan serves Bedford, Cambria and Somerset. Email and QR code check-ins between visits save clients a drive.

Data sovereignty

Why Pennsylvania clinics choose HiBoop

  • Outcome Tracking for Pennsylvania Programs

    • US customer data hosted in Google Cloud US regions, encrypted in transit and at rest
    • HIPAA compliant, with a BAA for covered entities, and SOC 2 Type II certified
    • Each view and export of client data is logged, with role-based access controls
    • Care is $25/month, month to month, with no credit card to start
    • Clients answer on their own phone, from an email link or a QR code in the waiting room

  • USD pricing & support

    Transparent pricing in USD with flexible payment options for clinics of every size.

    Care
    One clinician, month to month
    $25
    USD/month
    Team
    Starting price, unlimited clinicians
    $200
    USD/month
    Network
    Multi-site organizations
    Custom
    Enterprise pricing

100+ validated scales for Pennsylvania clinics

  • Validated scales grouped by what they measure, each with its scoring and source. Public programmes often call this routine outcome monitoring (ROM), or patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs): the same practice of giving a validated scale at regular points and reading the scores over time.

  • Depression, Suicide Risk and Anxiety

    • PHQ-9 (Depression)
    • C-SSRS Screener (Suicide Risk)
    • GAD-7 (Anxiety)

  • Substance Use and Trauma

    • ASSIST (Substance Involvement)
    • TAPS (Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Substances)
    • PCL-5 (PTSD)

  • Youth Services

    • PHQ-A (Adolescent Depression)
    • SCARED (Child Anxiety)
    • CRAFFT-2.1 (Youth Substance Use)
Browse all assessments

Pennsylvania Mental Health Records and Consent

  • HIPAA sets the federal floor. Pennsylvania adds confidentiality rules for mental health records in 55 Pa. Code Chapter 5100 and its own law on minors' consent. Neither offers a certification for software; the duties sit with your organization, and HiBoop's part is giving you what you need to meet them.

  • What Pennsylvania law asks

    • Treat information about people receiving services from a mental health facility with respect and confidentiality, and tell each client about the specific limits on confidentiality that affect their treatment when those limits apply (55 Pa. Code s.5100.31)
    • Follow the Mental Health Procedures Act as amended by Act 32 of 2022, which added HIPAA covered entities and their business associates to the permitted recipients in section 111(a); DHS proposed matching changes to Chapter 5100 in November 2025
    • Accept consent to outpatient treatment from a minor aged 14 or older, or from the parent or legal guardian of a minor under 18; under Act 65 of 2020, neither can override the consent the other has given
    • Keep HIPAA's safeguards and breach notification duties, with a business associate agreement in place for each vendor that handles protected health information

  • What HiBoop provides

    • A business associate agreement for HIPAA covered entities
    • US customer data hosted in Google Cloud US regions, encrypted in transit and at rest
    • A log of each view and export of client data, with role-based access controls
    • SOC 2 Type II certification, with the controls behind it set out on our trust page

  • Reviewing HiBoop for your agency?

    Our trust page covers hosting, encryption, access controls and SOC 2 Type II. Contact us for a BAA or help with your security questionnaire.

    Visit the trust centre

Grants & funding for Pennsylvania mental health clinics

Funding Guide

  • Public and private funding programs that support measurement-based care implementation.

  • Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS)

    OMHSAS — Digital Health & Technology Grants

    Tech eligible

    Pennsylvania OMHSAS periodically issues technology grants for contracted community mental health providers. County mental health programs (base-funded organizations) and outpatient clinics with PA Medicaid certification are the primary eligible applicants. Outcome measurement tools qualify under quality improvement infrastructure.

    VariesLearn more

  • SAMHSA — Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

    Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Expansion Grants

    Tech eligible

    SAMHSA’s CCBHC grants fund detailed behavioral health services including the infrastructure, staffing, and technology required to meet CCBHC standards. Outcome measurement and digital assessment platforms are explicitly eligible as required infrastructure for CCBHC certification.

    $1M–$5M/yearLearn more

  • SAMHSA

    Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG)

    Tech eligible

    States receive federal MHBG funds and redistribute them to community mental health organizations. Technology, quality improvement, and workforce development are eligible uses. Contact your state mental health authority to understand how MHBG flows in your state.

    State-distributedLearn more

  • SAMHSA

    Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PIPBHC)

    Tech eligible

    SAMHSA’s PIPBHC program funds integration of primary and behavioral health care, including the technology infrastructure needed to coordinate care across disciplines. Outcome measurement platforms and digital assessment tools are eligible as integration infrastructure.

    $500K–$900K/yearLearn more

  • HRSA — Health Resources and Services Administration

    Rural Health Network Development Program

    Tech eligible

    HRSA funds rural health networks to develop shared infrastructure including technology platforms, telehealth systems, and outcome measurement tools. Mental health-focused networks in rural areas can use this to fund shared digital assessment and measurement platforms.

    $250K–$500K/yearLearn more

  • HRSA

    Behavioral Health Workforce Development Program

    Tech eligible

    Supports expanding the behavioral health workforce through training, clinical placements, and technology-supported care delivery. Technology platforms that support supervision, measurement, and case management are eligible uses.

    $250K–$1MLearn more
View all grants & funding

Resources for Pennsylvania practitioners

Pennsylvania Policy, Privacy and Licensing Resources

Latest in mental health in California

Crisis and urgent help lines

More crisis lines

Measurement-based care

…starts with what we measure, and how long.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Pennsylvania require measurement-based care?

    Not as a general rule. We found no Pennsylvania statute or regulation that requires outpatient providers to use standardized symptom scales. Two things point that way: the OMHSAS performance improvement project for 2026 to 2029 focuses HealthChoices on depression screening and suicide safety planning, and the Behavioral Health Council's August 2026 plan recommends core outcome measures reported uniformly across payers. Your BH-MCO contract or county may set its own expectations, so check those first.

  • Will HiBoop report our outcomes to OMHSAS or our BH-MCO?

    No. HiBoop does not connect to state or BH-MCO systems. It sends and scores the scales, charts each client's change, and exports score histories as CSV or PDF, so your team can prepare whatever its BH-MCO or county asks for.

  • Can a 15-year-old consent to treatment without a parent in Pennsylvania?

    For outpatient care, yes. Under Act 65 of 2020, a minor aged 14 or older may consent to their own outpatient mental health treatment, and a parent or legal guardian may also consent for a minor under 18; neither can cancel the consent the other gave. Who sees a young client's scores follows your clinical policy and Pennsylvania's records rules, so confirm the details with your counsel. HiBoop's role-based access lets you limit which staff can see them.

  • Is HiBoop HIPAA compliant for Pennsylvania practices?

    Yes. HiBoop is HIPAA compliant, and a business associate agreement is available to covered entities. Since Act 32 of 2022, Pennsylvania's Mental Health Procedures Act lists covered entities and their business associates among the permitted recipients of confidential records, and DHS proposed aligning Chapter 5100 with HIPAA in November 2025. Whether a given disclosure is permitted still depends on your situation, so check with your counsel.

Official sources for Pennsylvania

  • Health authorities

    1. 1.PA DHS OMHSAS: Bureau of Policy, Planning and Program Development · behavioural health agency

    Billing and payment routes

    1. 1.CMS MLN909432: Behavioral Health Integration Services · public program · codes 99484, 99492, 99493, 99494, G2214, G0323 (read in the document on 2026-11-01)
    2. 2.CMS Physician Fee Schedule look-up · fee schedule
    3. 3.SAMHSA: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) · public program

    Fee codes and amounts are set by each payer and change; check the linked schedule before you bill. HiBoop does not submit claims.

    Regulators and licensing

    1. 1.Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine · physicians
    2. 2.ASPPB: psychology licensing boards · psychologists
    3. 3.ASWB: social work regulatory boards · social workers
    4. 4.Counseling Compact · counsellors
    5. 5.Social Work Licensure Compact · social workers

    Data and statistics

    1. 1.SAMHSA: NSDUH state reports
    2. 2.HRSA: HPSA Find (mental health shortage areas)
    3. 3.NIMH: mental illness statistics

    Listed for reference so you can find the official source. HiBoop is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, any of these organizations.