WITS

Idaho WITS is a secure HIPAA and CRF42 compliant web‐based clinical and administrative system used by the Department of Health and Welfare, Department of Correction, Department of Juvenile Correction, Idaho Supreme Court, substance use disorder provider agencies, and by some contracted behavioral health community crisis centers. The Division of Behavioral Health's Automation Help Desk provides or arranges for technical assistance in resolving difficulties in assessing and using Idaho WITS. 

 

Accessing WITS

Select the production site in the time zone where your agency/facility is located. This may be different from the time zone in which the client lives.

Providers of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services
Accessing WITS

Access to WITS is granted to provider agencies in accordance with the provider agency agreement with Department of Health and Welfare's Division of Behavioral Health.

Substance Use Providers eManual
WITS User Guide for SUD Providers
Agency setup and system access

A substance use disorder services provider agency is a treatment or recovery support services provider who has been approved by the department under IDAPA 16.07.20 “Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders Treatment and Recovery Support Services Facilities and Programs.”

A network provider is a treatment or recovery support services provider who has been approved by the department and is contracted with the department’s management services contractor (MSC).

Agency WITS Access Process 1. Contact the MSC regarding facility approval and network contracting as described above. 2. Submit a completed WITS provider agency set-up packet to the WITS Help Desk.

Email the completed packet to the WITS Help Desk for the type of services you provide (treatment services or stand-alone recovery support services).

  1. Completed WITS provider agency set-up packets will not be processed by the WITS Help Desk until verification of approval (see above) is received from the MSC.
  2.  Idaho WITS Recovery Support Services Provider Agency Set-Up Packet.
  3.  Idaho WITS Treatment Provider Agency Set-Up Packet.
Announcements
10/23/2023

RESOLVED!

The issue with the Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites has now been resolved. If you are still encountering issues with WITS, please log out and log back in to see if that resolves the issue. Otherwise, please contact the Automation Help Desk at dbhautomationhd@dhw.idaho.gov or call 208-332-7316.

UPDATE: This issue is also now impacting the ability to log into the production sites.

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites which is not allowing users to save or upload anything into WITS. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue. Currently we do not have an ETA of when the issue will be resolved. We greatly appreciate your patience as we try to resolve this issue.

08/31/2023

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, and will post an update on the issue tomorrow, September 1, 2023.

08/10/2023
RESOLVED!

FEI is continuing to work on identifying the issue causing the slow response of WITS. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. 

08/08/2023

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, and will post an update on the issue tomorrow, August 9, 2023.

04/01/2023

Chestnut has fixed GRRS in GAIN ABS. Everyone that has GAIN ABS access should now see the GRRS in GAIN ABS.

03/31/2023

The GRRS function in GAIN ABS is not appearing/working correctly for WITS SUD Providers. This means the GAIN Assessments cannot be edited and the GRRS cannot be created and uploaded into WITS. Chestnut has been contacted and we are working with them to resolve the issue.

10/07/2022

WITS email system is now working. Reset credential and enabling emails can now be sent to users. AWAs are once again able to update email addresses and create new staff accounts in WITS.

10/07/2022

We have identified the following issues with WITS:

  • Emails from WITS is down. This also includes the enable and reset credentials emails. 
  • Unable to update email addresses in WITS.

We are working with our vendor to resolve the issue. We currently do not have the ETA when this issue will be resolved. We will update as we receive additional information.

12/02/2021
  • GAIN ABS now working for WITS Pacific.
  • The Claim Item List and Claim Batch List now working for WITS Mountain.
12/01/2021

We have identified the following issues with WITS:

  • GAIN ABS is not working for WITS Pacific. This impacts trying to sync the client profile, performing the GAIN Assessment, downloading the GAIN into WITS, and reviewing the GAIN Assessments.
  • The Claim Item List and Claim Batch List is erroring out for WITS Mountain.

We are working with our vendor to resolve the issue. We currently do not have an ETA when these issues will be will be resolved. We will update as we receive additional information.

11/30/2021

WITS Mountain and WITS Pacific production sites have been restored.

11/29/2021

WITS is currently unavailable. It is down for both Mountain and Production sites. We are working with the vendor to restore access. We will post updates as we get more information.

11/10/2021

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, which will be resolved in the next release 20.6.13, which we will begin testing this Monday,11/15/2021.

09/14/2021

The issue with logging into WITS Mountain producing the message “A warning is coming up that states it is not private” has been resolved.

09/08/2021

The issue was resolved by FEI and the Claim Item List screen is available in WITS.

09/08/2021

A critical issue was identified today on the Claim Item List screen which is located under Agency Billing. When the Claim Item List is clicked in the blue navigation pane a yellow page error displays.  FEI is currently investigating the issue and additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

08/26/2021

The DBH Automation Helpdesk may be unavailable today between 12PM – 5PM MST due to internal meetings. The issue has been resolved that was preventing the DBH Automation Help Desk from receiving emails.

08/23/2021

The DBH Automation Help Desk is experiencing issues that are preventing incoming and outgoing emails. Users are encouraged to submit an online support request through the Support Portal to ensure that requests are received. Updates will be provided as they become available. 

06/28/2021

Intermittent issues with WITS timing out and resulting in an error screen. Searching for clients and other functions in WITS are resulting in this time out. The technical team identified what is causing the issue and will have a fix in place tonight around 8PM MST. There is currently no workaround but please be patient while the technical team works to resolve the issue.

06/28/2021

The WITS Production sites will be updated on 06/28/2021 to the 20.6.8 release. This release contains the following changes to WITS:

  • Chrome is the only fully supported browser for WITS effective Monday, June 28, 2021.
  • Additional columns were added to the Client List screen
  • GAIN Short Screener (SS) has been rebuilt to function in the browser Chrome and updated to version 3.0 of the GAIN SS.

Effective Monday, June 28, 2021 users should begin using only the browser Chrome when accessing WITS. Please note that if you continue to use Internet Explorer (IE) you may encounter functionality that that no longer works in IE. Only issues identified in the browser Chrome will be resolved effective immediately. Guidance for the new functionality will be available under Forms and documents and System Guidance.

05/31/2021

The Automation Help Desk will be closed on Monday, May 31, 2021, in Observance of Memorial Day.

03/29/2021

The WITS training site will be unavailable all day on Thursday (04/01/2021)/Friday (04/02/2021) while the training site is updated to the 20.6.6 release. No one will be able to access WITS Training while the update is taking place.

03/27/2021

The WITS Production sites will be unavailable from 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 27, 2021 while system maintenance is conducted. No one will be able to access WITS while the update is taking place. 

03/15/2021

Effective Monday, March 15, 2021, the password/pin criteria for the WITS Production site will be updated to the new security standard. Users do not need to immediately update their password/pin. Instead, the next time a user needs to change their password they will be required to meet the new standard. 

Beginning on 03/15/2021 a password/pin for WITS must include:

  • Minimum of 6 characters long
  • At least three different character types out of the following: 
    • Uppercase
    • Lowercase
    • Numeric characters
    • Special characters
03/13/2021

The WITS Production sites will be unavailable from 4:00 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 13, 2021 for a system update. No one will be able to access WITS while the update is taking place. 

03/10/2021

The Help Desk will be closed today (Wednesday, 03/10/2021) from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT for an Automation Unit meeting.

12/21/2020

Regarding a recent nationwide issue related to information security: The vendor for the Division of Behavioral Health’s information systems, including WITS and ICANS, reviewed the current security advisory from SolarWinds (https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory) and found that both systems are not running a vulnerable version. The vendor will continue to monitor this situation and will be alerted to anomalous behavior, and through new vendor information as it becomes available. The Vendor will re-evaluate risk  should additional details be revealed impacting the current state. Please direct any questions to Seth Schreiber, Automation Program Manager.

09/28/2020

On Wednesday, September 30, 2020 all clients in the current DHW Regional Agencies WITS agencies will be moved to the new single DHW Agency called DHW Behavioral Health. Beginning September 30, 2020, you will no longer be able to send a consent/referral to any of the individual DHW Regional agencies (DHW Region 1, DHW Region 2, etc.). When creating a referral, select the agency of DHW, Behavioral Health, then select the appropriate Regional Office. Please see the guidance document on the Resources page.

06/30/2020

The Division of Behavioral Health is postponing the implementation of the consolidated agency within WITS initially scheduled for tomorrow, 7/1/2020. The DBH did not come to this decision lightly. We are committed to the project and believe it to be a key component to modernizing the organization of the Division’s electronic health record. The Division decided to postpone the implementation so that we are able to investigate recently discovered issues that could critically impact the success of the project. The consolidation project will be postponed until 7/7/2020, or until a time where the DBH has fully considered the best way to move forward. We understand that you or your staff may have received a number of recent communications, instructions, or training related to this project, but given the postponement we request that you or your staff defer any related action related to this project until further notice. The Division of Behavioral Health, especially the Automation Unit and Help Desk, sincerely appreciate your continued patience and cooperation.

06/04/2020

The Help Desk will be closed June 9, 2020 - June 10, 2020 for meetings. Please send questions or requests for assistance to DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov and we will contact you when the Help Desk reopens. Thank you.

04/03/2020

A bug has been identified on the Admission. When navigating from the ASAM screen to the Diagnosis screen, there is no arrow button to bring you to the next page. The workaround for this is to click Save and then click Diagnosis on the blue navigation bar. 

03/18/2020

Update on Telehealth Services in WITS: When creating a billable note (Encounter) in WITS, you must select the location where the service was provided. A list of SUD services may be released to billing with the location of (tbh) telehealth.

03/17/2020

Due to the current situation regarding COVID-19, Automation Help Desk calls are being routed in a different way and may have a longer response time. For the quickest response, please email the Help Desk at DBHWITSHD@dhw.idao.gov.

02/04/2020

The Help Desk will be closed February 5, 2020 - February 6, 2020 for meetings. Please send questions or requests for assistance to DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov and we will contact you when the Help Desk reopens. Thank you.

01/23/2020

The technical issues with the Online Portal, Service Pro have been resolved. Please let us know if you have any issues submitting a request. Thank you. 

01/22/2020

The Automation Help Desk is experiencing Technical issues with the online Portal - Service Pro. Please email all requests and questions to the Automation help Desk at DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov and we will respond as soon as time allows. Please provide as much information as possible with regards to your agency name, purpose of request and contact information. We will be updating this notice as information is provided. Thank you for your understanding.

Calendar
EventDate & TimeDetails
All Staff MeetingTuesday – March 12, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm MT
HELP DESK CLOSED
Scheduled OutageSaturday - March 16, 2024
4:00am – 8:00am MT
WITS Offline

Idaho WITS User Group (IWUG)

Trainer: Krista Edge

Thursday – March 7, 2024
10:00am – 11:00am MT

Webex Link to User Group Call

Registration is not required. Click the Webex link listed above 5-10 minutes before the meeting starts to join the video conference call.

1. Log in to your account
2. Click “Start Now”
3. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen

To join the Conference Call, dial: 415-527-5035
Session Number: 2761 247 8614   
Session Password: ybTpvXPi893 (92878974 from phones)  

New SUD TX Provider Training: Part 1

Trainer: Krista Edge

Wednesday - March 13, 2024
10:00am-11:30am MT

Webex Link to Training

Registration is not required. Click the Webex link listed above 5-10 minutes before the training starts to join the video conference call.

1. Log in to your account
2. Click “Start Now”
3. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen

To join the Conference Call, dial: 415-527-5035
Session Number: 2820 674 4304     
Session Password: mcWGDwAj365 (62943925 from phones)

New SUD TX Provider Training: Part 2

Trainer: Krista Edge

Tuesday - March 19, 2024
10:00am – 11:30am MT

Webex Link to Training

Registration is not required. Click the Webex link listed above 5-10 minutes before the training starts to join the video conference call.

1. Log in to your account
2. Click “Start Now”
3. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen

To join the Conference Call, dial: 415-527-5035
Session Number: 2830 092 8843    
Session Password: QPxbAVCU343 (77922828 from phones) 

 

Training resources and sites

WITS Training

Idaho WITS Training Site

Required training descriptions

These documents provide a thorough explanation of each training that is offered for recovery support services and substance use disorder treatment providers. Navigate to the document that best covers your position and make sure you sign up for the proper online training or watch the proper training video.

SUD Agency WITS Administrator (AWA) Training video

The SUD AWA Training video is being offered in lieu of live trainings via Webex. Please watch the following video, then, for current WITS users, have your current AWA submit the appropriate New or Update User Online Portal request with the SUD AWA Training attestation date. This will ensure you receive credit for watching the video, because it is mandatory. For new users who do not currently have an account in WITS, have your current AWA submit a ticket via the online portal. For new agencies, use the contact information below.

Recovery Support Services training videos

These training videos are being offered in lieu of live trainings via Webex. Watch the training video(s) that best suits your needs, then, for current WITS users, submit a Help Desk ticket in the Online Portal with a Service Type of Training Attestation to receive credit for viewing the video. For new users that do not currently have an account in WITS, have your Agency WITS Administrator submit a ticket via the Online Portal. For new agencies, use the contact information below.

If you have any questions about this process, contact the Help Desk either via the online portal, by email at DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov, or by phone at 208-332-7316
System support, updates, and bugs
Automated Services Help Desk online portal

Create an Online Portal Request to ask for assistance, report an issue, or request new/updated access to ICANS.

System updates

WITS has a monthly release that updates the system by correcting errors and adding improvements. Click the links below to read about each monthly change.

WITS Release Notes 19.8.9 - 3/30/2020

Known bugs in the WITS production sites
  • 4/3/2020 – In the 19.8.9 Release a bug and a work around was identified for an issue in group notes.
    • Issue: When navigating from the ASAM screen to the Diagnosis screen, there is no arrow button to bring you to the next page.  
    • Work around: Select save and then select diagnosis on the blue navigation bar. 
Contacts
  CONTACT EMAIL Phone NUMBER
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE

Automation Help Desk

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. MT

DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov

208-332-7316

844-726-7493

ONLINE PORTAL Help Desk Online Portal    
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION Lorenzo Washington lwashing@idoc.idaho.gov 208-658-2133
DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTION Liza Crook jjsuds@idjc.idaho.gov 208-577-5449

IDAHO SUPREME COURT

Lynn Proctor lproctor@idcourts.net 208-947-7455
BPA HEALTH www.bpahealth.com ProviderRelations@bpahealth.com 800-922-3406
OPTUM IDAHO www.optumidaho.com   855-202-0973
User groups

Idaho WITS User Group

The Idaho WITS User Group is made up of staff in provider agencies and state agencies who have been trained in the use of WITS as an electronic health record. The user group meets the first Thursday of every month. 

Staff at the Idaho Supreme Court, Department of Correction, Department of Juvenile Corrections, Department of Health & Welfare, and BPA Health discuss partner and policy issues. The WITS Help Desk will provide any relevant notices dedicated to WITS updates, functionality, and training. 

Providers must register to attend.

GAIN for providers of substance use disorder services

WITS and GAIN (Global Appraisal of Individual Needs) interface is unique to Idaho. The interface allows identified providers to access GAIN Assessment tools through the Idaho WITS system. 

Behavioral Health Community Crisis Centers

All documentation and processes for WITS are located in the Crisis Center eManual. Each page/section of the eManual may be printed by selecting the printer icon at the top of the screen. We have a new starter guide in the eManual that should be very helpful and will walk you through most WITS processes from start to finish. We highly encourage you to review the starter guides, especially for new staff.

WITS crisis center electronic manual   
Documents and forms
Crisis Center eManual
WITS User Guide
Agency setup and system access

If you have any questions about WITS, please contact the WITS Help Desk either via the online portal, by email at dbhwitshd@dhw.idaho.gov, or by phone at 208-332-7316

Announcements
10/23/2023

RESOLVED!

The issue with the Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites has now been resolved. If you are still encountering issues with WITS, please log out and log back in to see if that resolves the issue. Otherwise, please contact the Automation Help Desk at dbhautomationhd@dhw.idaho.gov or call 208-332-7316.

UPDATE: This issue is now impacting the ability to log into ICANS.

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites which is not allowing users to save or upload anything into WITS. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue. Currently we do not have an ETA of when the issue will be resolved. We greatly appreciate your patience as we try to resolve this issue.

08/31/2023

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, and will post an update on the issue tomorrow, September 1, 2023.

08/10/2023

RESOLVED!

FEI is continuing to work on identifying the issue causing the slow response of WITS. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. 

08/08/2023

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, and will post an update on the issue tomorrow, August 9, 2023.

11/30/2021

WITS Mountain and WITS Pacific production sites have been restored.

11/29/2021

WITS is currently unavailable. It is down for both Mountain and Production sites. We are working with the vendor to restore access. We will post updates as we get more information.

11/10/2021

We have identified an issue in Mountain and Pacific WITS production sites running slower than usual. We are currently working with FEI to resolve this issue, which will be resolved in the next release 20.6.13, which we will begin testing this Monday, 11/15/2021.

8/26/2021

The DBH Automation Helpdesk may be unavailable today between 12PM – 5PM MST due to internal meetings. The issue has been resolved that was preventing the DBH Automation Helpdesk from receiving emails.

8/23/2021

The DBH Automation Helpdesk is experiencing issues that are preventing incoming and outgoing emails. Users are encouraged to submit an online support request through the Support Portal to ensure that requests are received. Updates will be provided as they become available. 

8/02/2021

Crisis Center training for 8/12/2021 has been canceled. Please contact the Automation Help Desk if you have any training needs. You can reach us via email at DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov or via phone at 208-332-7316.

6/28/2021

Intermittent issues with WITS timing out and resulting in an error screen. Searching for clients and other functions in WITS are resulting in this time out. The technical team identified what is causing the issue and will have a fix in place tonight around 8PM MST. There is currently no workaround but please be patient while the technical team works to resolve the issue.

6/28/2021

The WITS Production sites will be updated on 06/28/2021 to the 20.6.8 release. This release contains the following changes to WITS:

  • Chrome is the only fully supported browser for WITS effective Monday, June 28, 2021.
  • Additional columns were added to the Client List screen
  • GAIN Short Screener (SS) has been rebuilt to function in the browser Chrome and updated to version 3.0 of the GAIN SS.

Effective Monday, June 28, 2021 users should begin using only the browser Chrome when accessing WITS. Please note that if you continue to use Internet Explorer (IE) you may encounter functionality that that no longer works in IE. Only issues identified in the browser Chrome will be resolved effective immediately. Guidance for the new functionality will be available under Documents and forms.

5/31/2021

The Automation Help Desk will be closed on Monday, May 31, 2021 in observance of Memorial Day.

3/29/2021

The WITS Training site will be unavailable all day on Thursday (04/01/2021)/Friday (04/02/2021) while the Training site is updated to the 20.6.6 release. No one will be able to access WITS Training while the update is taking place.

3/27/2021

The WITS Production sites will be unavailable from 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 27, 2021 while system maintenance is conducted. No one will be able to access WITS while the update is taking place. 

3/15/2021

Effective Monday, March 15, 2021, the password/pin criteria for the WITS Production site will be updated to the new security standard.  Users do not need to immediately update their password/pin. Instead, the next time a user needs to change their password they will be required to meet the new standard. 

Beginning on 03/15/2021 a password/pin for WITS must include:

  • Minimum of 6 characters long
  • At least three different character types out of the following: 
    • Uppercase
    • Lowercase
    • Numeric characters
    • Special characters
3/13/2021

The WITS production sites will be unavailable from 4:00 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 13, 2021 for a system update. No one will be able to access WITS while the update is taking place. 

3/10/2021

The Help Desk will be closed today (Wednesday, 03/10/2021) from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT for an Automation Unit meeting.

12/21/2020

Regarding a recent nationwide issue related to information security: The vendor for the Division of Behavioral Health’s information systems, including WITS and ICANS, reviewed the current security advisory from SolarWinds (https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory) and found that both systems are not running a vulnerable version. The vendor will continue to monitor this situation and will be alerted to anomalous behavior, and through new vendor information as it becomes available. The Vendor will re-evaluate risk  should additional details be revealed impacting the current state. Please direct any questions to Seth Schreiber, Automation Program Manager.

Calendar
EventDate & TimeDetails
All Staff MeetingTuesday – March 12, 2024
11:00am – 12:00pm MT
HELP DESK CLOSED
Scheduled OutageSaturday - March 16, 2024
4:00am – 8:00am MT
WITS Offline

Crisis Center Training

Trainer: Anna Schaeffer

Wednesday – March 20, 2024
2:00pm – 3:00pm MT

Webex Link to Training

Registration is not required. Click the Webex link listed above 5-10 minutes before the training starts to join the video conference call.

1. Log in to your account
2. Click “Start Now”
3. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen

To join the Conference Call, dial: 415-527-5035
Session Number:  2831 694 0234     
Session Password:  FMqFJmrF233 (36735673 from phones) 

 

Training resources and sites

BeHavioral Health Community Crisis Center WITS TRAINING

Idaho WITS Training Site

If you have any questions about WITS training, including Agency WITS Administrator (AWA) training, for Behavioral Health Community Crisis Centers, please contact the Help Desk either via the online portal, by email at DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov, or by phone at 208-332-7316
System support, updates, and bugs

The Division of Behavioral Health Automation Help Desk provides or arranges for, technical assistance in resolving difficulties in accessing and using WITS.

Automated Services Help Desk online portal

Log into the portal for assistance with Idaho WITS. 

System updates

WITS has a monthly release that updates the system by correcting errors and adding improvements. Click the links below to read about each monthly change.

WITS Release Notes 19.8.9 - 3/30/2020

Known bugs in the WITS production sites

No known bugs at this time. 

Contacts
  CONTACT EMAIL Phone NUMBER
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE

Automation Help Desk

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. MT

DBHAutomationHD@dhw.idaho.gov

208-332-7316

844-726-7493

Online Portal
Help Desk Online Portal    
User groups

IDAHO WITS USER GROUP (IWUG)

The Idaho WITS User Group is made up of staff in provider agencies and state agencies that have been trained in the use of WITS as an electronic health record. The user group meets the first Thursday of every month. 

Staff at the Idaho Supreme Court, Department of Correction, Department of Juvenile Corrections, Department of Health & Welfare, and BPA Health will discuss partner and policy issues. The WITS Help Desk will provide any relevant notices dedicated to WITS updates, functionality, and training. 

Providers must register for the user group.