Intake
Where intake stops and the EHR starts
A boundary map for behavioral health intake teams: what belongs in the referral system vs. the clinical record.
The boundary matters
Most intake teams either over-collect (they end up as a shadow EHR) or under-collect (they hand a nearly empty record to the clinician). Neither ages well.
What belongs in intake
- Contact information and consent to contact.
- Insurance identification and eligibility confirmation.
- Referral source and reason (free text, minimum-necessary).
- Program interest and geography.
- Signed ROIs for prior treating providers.
What does NOT belong in intake
- Diagnosis codes.
- Clinical notes.
- Treatment history detail.
- Billing artifacts.
All of that belongs in the EHR, after the human qualification call. This isn’t squeamishness - it’s minimum necessary under HIPAA and, in SUD settings, 42 CFR Part 2.
Handoff should be a moment, not a merge
ClinicWarden Module D treats the handoff to the EHR as a discrete
event: qualification confirmed by a person, required checklist done,
a client record created with an ehr_ref, and the intake
case marked handed_off. Nothing clinical stays in the
intake module.
Related tool: Compliance Calendar Generator
Once handed off, the client is on the deadline clock. See the schedule.