EHR and billing operations for LA County SAPC providers on Sage.
LA County SAPC requires contracted SUD providers to use Sage. You can be a Primary User, where Sage is your EHR, or a Secondary User, where you run your own EHR and submit 837P/837I claim files to SAPC's companion-guide format. Navix runs the Secondary User workflow end to end: one clinical record for your team, and CollaborateMD, our deeply integrated RCM partner, builds and processes your 837P/837I claims to Sage.
Last verified: August 19, 2026 · sources belowSage, Primary and Secondary Users, and the 837 files.
SAPC runs the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System for Los Angeles County, and Sage is the county SUD information system. Sage runs on the ProviderConnect NX platform, often written as Sage-PCNX.
Primary vs Secondary Users
Primary Users use Sage-PCNX as their EHR and enter services directly. Secondary Users keep their own EHR and submit 837 claim files to SAPC. The 837 files are compiled from the EHR, using the information entered into the client's record and the provider billing details.
Which companion guide applies
Providers delivering Withdrawal Management 3.7 and 4.0 reference the 837I companion guide. All other service providers use the 837P companion guide. The companion guides exist so Secondary Users build the file in the format Sage expects and avoid format-driven denials. For DMC-enrolled clients, the Subscriber Client Index Number (CIN) is included; for non-DMC clients it is left blank.
Primary to Secondary: the deadlines that matter.
The denials, and the double documentation.
SAPC publishes a claim denial resolution crosswalk and holds billing tutoring labs, which tells you how routine denials are. The recurring causes are specific and fixable:
- A service dated before the client's date of diagnosis
- A financial guarantor coverage effective date that falls after the date of service
- An authorization grouping that does not match the level of care where the client was admitted
- A claim whose date of service is more than 365 days before submission
- State denials applied after payment when DHCS identifies an eligibility or standards issue
The second cost is quieter. A Secondary User who keeps clinical notes in one system and re-enters data to satisfy Sage pays for every service twice in staff time. The goal is a single clinical record that also produces the county-ready 837 file.
Document once. Claims processed to Sage, end to end.
Navix is the clinical record your team works in every day, and it generates the 837P and 837I files formatted to SAPC's companion guides. Clinicians document the session once, and the billing file is built from that same record instead of a second round of data entry.
From there, CollaborateMD, our deeply integrated revenue cycle management partner, processes those claims to Sage. A Secondary User is not left to build and submit 837 files alone: the clinical record, the 837P/837I generation, and the claim processing work together, which is what keeps the format and eligibility errors that drive the denials above from piling up. Every SAPC requirement is confirmed against the county's own materials before your team relies on it.
Straight answers.
Can I use my own EHR with Sage in LA County?
Yes. LA County SAPC supports a Sage Secondary User model: you run your own EHR and submit 837P/837I claim files formatted to SAPC's companion guides, rather than entering services directly in Sage as a Primary User. Conversion happens during an annual window.
When is the Sage Secondary User conversion deadline?
The official Primary-to-Secondary conversion request is due by January 31. Agencies that meet it begin 837 testing by March 31 and complete testing by June 30. Miss the January 31 request window and you wait until the next year's enrollment period.
What is the difference between a Primary and Secondary Sage User?
A Primary User uses Sage (on the ProviderConnect NX platform) as their EHR and enters services directly. A Secondary User keeps their own EHR and submits 837 claim files to SAPC. Both are contracted SAPC providers; the difference is where the clinical record lives.
Do I use the 837P or 837I companion guide?
Providers delivering Withdrawal Management 3.7 and 4.0 reference the 837I companion guide. All other service providers use the 837P companion guide. The companion guides define the exact file format Sage expects.
Why do SAPC Sage claims get denied?
Common causes in SAPC's denial resolution guide include a service dated before the date of diagnosis, a financial guarantor effective date after the service date, an authorization grouping that does not match the admitted level of care, and claims older than 365 days. SAPC publishes a denial resolution crosswalk and holds billing tutoring labs.
Does Navix handle the Sage claims, or just generate the file?
Both. Navix is the clinical record your team documents in, and it generates the 837P/837I files formatted to SAPC's companion guides. Navix also works with CollaborateMD, its deeply integrated revenue cycle management partner, which processes those SAPC claims, so a Secondary User is not left to submit and work claims alone. Confirm current program requirements against SAPC's own materials, which change by fiscal year.
Related.
See Navix on the Sage Secondary User workflow.
We will walk the path from clinical documentation to the 837 file your agency submits to SAPC, on a real chart.
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