On September 1, 2024, SmartCare replaced SanWITS as San Diego County's EHR for the SUD System of Care. Here is what the transition changed for contracted providers, what SanWITS is still used for, and why your own operating record matters more when the county re-platforms.
If your San Diego copy, training materials, or vendor still say "SanWITS," they are out of date. On September 1, 2024, SmartCare replaced SanWITS as the county's EHR for the SUD System of Care. Here is what changed, what did not, and the lesson for providers. For the market context, see the San Diego SmartCare guide.
SmartCare — a semi-statewide EHR offered through the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) — replaced SanWITS as the county electronic health record for the SUD System of Care, and it is the county EHR for the mental health system as well. It is run through Optum San Diego, the county's Administrative Services Organization. SanWITS did not disappear entirely: it is retained for services, state reporting, and corrections dated before the September 1, 2024 cutover. But for anything current — CalOMS Tx, ASAM, DMC billing — the system of record is now SmartCare.
The system changed; the obligation did not. The SUD Provider Operations Handbook still requires providers running their own EHR to accommodate dual entry of client data, state reporting, and billing into the county system. So the transition swapped the destination, not the burden — the CalOMS fields and billing data still get entered into the county's system in addition to your clinical record. Confirm the current handbook edition, since it is actively maintained. See the SUD Provider Operations Handbook.
There is a pattern worth naming: county systems change. San Diego moved from SanWITS to SmartCare; Orange County is exploring EHR replacement. Every one of these transitions is disruptive for providers whose clinical record lives inside the county system, and a non-event for providers whose clinical record is their own. When the county re-platforms, the facility that documents in its own operating record simply adjusts its county-facing output — it does not migrate its entire clinical history.
Navix is the operating record that stays put when the county's system changes. Your team keeps documenting in Navix, and Navix is designed to feed the county's current system — SmartCare today — for reporting and billing. CollaborateMD, our RCM partner, processes your commercial and cash claims. The value of an independent operating record is highest exactly at moments like a SanWITS-to-SmartCare cutover.
See how a stable record survives county transitions — schedule a demo, or read about the SmartCare and CalOMS reporting spine.
