Overview
The Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS) analyzes and reports on information submitted to CIHI about all individuals receiving adult mental health services in Ontario, as well as some individuals receiving services in youth inpatient beds and selected facilities in other provinces. OMHRS includes information about mental and physical health, social supports and service use, as well as care planning, outcome measurement, quality improvement and case-mix funding applications.
Find out more about inpatient mental health services, including reports and analyses based on OMHRS data.
Data source
OMHRS comprehensive data is collected using the Resident Assessment Instrument — Mental Health (RAI-MH©) version 2.0, a standardized clinical instrument used to regularly assess those receiving inpatient mental health care. The RAI-MH gathers information on where individuals are admitted from and why, where they are discharged to and why, and, potentially, information at other points in time during a hospital stay.
The tool was developed by interRAI , Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Ontario Hospital Association. It includes the following:
- The Minimum Data Set for Mental Health (MDS-MH)©, with approximately 300 data elements
- 20 Mental Health Clinical Assessment Protocols (MH CAPs)© for care planning
- 5 Quality Indicators for Mental Health (QIMH)
- 7 outcome measures based on clinical scales
- The System for Classification of In-Patient Psychiatry (SCIPP) case-mix methodology
Assessments are completed
- At admission
- At discharge
- Every 3 months, for patients with extended stays
- Whenever there is a significant, unexpected change in a patient’s clinical status
Data is currently submitted to CIHI from participating hospitals in Ontario, as well as from 3 facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador and 1 facility in Manitoba. Data is available from October 1, 2005, onward
Data availability
OMHRS data is available by fiscal quarter, with a 2-month lag period following each fiscal quarter. OMHRS data is currently available for the following fiscal years:
Provisional data:
Annual updates
- Q1 (April to June), available September 6
- Q2 (July to September), available December 6
- Q3 (October to December), available March 6
- Q4 (January to March), available June 6
Classification
Case-mix methodologies (a form of resource measurement) categorize assessment data into homogenous groups based on the administrative and clinical data collected. This information can be used to understand the different care requirements of clients by comparing health care organization and case-mix resource use.
OMHRS uses the System for Classification of In-Patient Psychiatry (SCIPP) (PDF) that was developed for the RAI-MH.
Data elements
The OMHRS data elements in the MDS-MH are organized into the following sections:
- Patient identifiers
- Personal items
- Referral items
- Mental health service history
- Assessment information
- Mental state indicators
- Substance use and excessive behaviours
- Harm to self and others
- Behaviour disturbance
- Cognition
- Self-care
- Communication/vision patterns
- Health conditions and possible medication side effects
- Stressors
- Service utilization/treatments
- Control procedures/observation
- Nutrition
- Role functioning and social relations
- Resources for discharge
- Psychiatric diagnostic information
- Service history
- Medications
OMHRS Assessment Types and Data Elements, 2024-2025 (PDF)
Data quality
CIHI ensures that the quality of the information in our data holdings is suited to its intended uses and that data users are provided with accurate information about data quality. Read more about our Data and Information Quality Program.
The following data quality documentation is available:
- Ontario Mental Health Reporting System Data Quality Documentation, 2022-2023
- Ontario Mental Health Reporting System Data Quality Documentation, 2021-2022
- Ontario Mental Health Reporting System Data Quality Documentation, 2020-2021
Key resources
The following resources are available to OMHRS subscribing facilities:
- Ontario Mental Health Reporting System Resource Manual
- RAI-MH Outcome Scales Reference Guide
- OMHRS Guide to Interpreting Comparative Reports
- System for Classification of In-Patient Psychiatry (SCIPP) Grouping Methodology
- OMHRS Interpreting SCIPP Weighted Patient Day (SWPD) Reports
Please log in to Operational Reports to view these resources:
- Guide to Operational Reports: Finding Your Way Around
- OMHRS Quarterly Data Quality Reports Companion Document
- OMHRS Guide to Data Submission
Privacy impact assessment
Privacy impact assessments (PIAs) evaluate and address the privacy impacts of programs and systems.
Go to the Privacy and security page to view the PIA, which contains further information about the purposes, data elements and data sources for this data holding.
Contact us
For further information, please email