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Glossary: SAPC Compliance Terms, Explained
The acronyms and terms used across this site and in LA County's Focus on Finance materials, defined in plain language.
42 CFR Part 2
- A federal regulation, stricter than general healthcare privacy law, governing how records that would identify someone as having sought or received SUD treatment can be stored, accessed, and disclosed.
A-C (Auditor-Controller)
- The California county government office responsible for financial accounting, internal controls, and compliance/claims auditing — the office conducting SAPC's fiscal compliance reviews.
ASAM
- American Society of Addiction Medicine. Publisher of the ASAM Criteria, the standardized clinical guidelines used to determine appropriate levels of SUD care, including under DMC-ODS.
BAA (Business Associate Agreement)
- The standard HIPAA agreement covering protected health information beyond SUD-specific records.
CARF
- An independent nonprofit accrediting body for health and human services, including behavioral health and SUD treatment programs; originally "Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities," now branded CARF International.
CIBHS
- California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions. An independent nonprofit that provides training, workforce development, and technical assistance to California county behavioral health systems, including SAPC.
Cohort
- A wave of SAPC providers moving through the Focus on Finance rollout on a shared submission timeline (distinct from "Cohort 3" specifically, which is the current wave).
Cohort 3
- The current wave of LA County's Focus on Finance rollout, with its own three-submission timeline and associated incentive funding.
Cost-Allocation Methodology
- The documented logic behind how a provider assigns costs across programs and funding sources — the specific thing SAPC IN 26-05's fiscal compliance reviews audit.
DHCS
- California Department of Health Care Services. The state agency that administers Medi-Cal and oversees SUD treatment programs, including Drug Medi-Cal and DMC-ODS county contracts.
DMC
- Drug Medi-Cal. California's fee-for-service Medicaid benefit that reimburses licensed/certified providers for SUD treatment services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
DMC-ODS
- Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System. A Medicaid waiver program letting California counties, including LA County, deliver a fuller continuum of ASAM-based SUD care in exchange for stricter documentation, billing, and quality-oversight requirements.
DPH
- LA County Department of Public Health. The county department SAPC sits within.
EHR (Electronic Health Record)
- A digital record of a patient's clinical and treatment history, used for documentation, billing, and care coordination.
Fiscal Compliance Review
- The annual review process introduced under SAPC IN 26-05, distinct from a standard financial audit — it examines a provider's cost-allocation methodology directly.
Focus on Finance
- LA County SAPC's initiative requiring providers to meet new financial reporting, cost-allocation, and data-security standards, introduced through a 2026 training series and a set of Information Notices (SAPC IN 26-05, SAPC IN 26-06).
HCCA
- Health Care Compliance Association. A professional membership association providing training, certification, and resources for healthcare compliance professionals.
HIPAA
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. A federal law whose Privacy and Security Rules set national standards protecting the confidentiality and security of individuals' health information, while permitting the disclosures needed for treatment, payment, and operations.
LPHA (Licensed Practitioner of the Healing Arts)
- Under DMC-ODS, a defined category of licensed clinicians (physicians, licensed psychologists, LCSWs, LMFTs, and others) authorized to conduct ASAM-based assessments and determine medical necessity for billing and documentation purposes.
NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
- Standard mutual confidentiality agreement covering the consulting engagement itself, separate from the data-specific protections above.
PHI (Protected Health Information)
- Individually identifiable health information — diagnosis, treatment, billing records — created, received, or maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity and protected under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
QSO (Qualified Service Organization)
- Under 42 CFR Part 2, the outside organization providing services (such as billing, data processing, or consulting) to a program that handles SUD treatment records.
QSOA (Qualified Service Organization Agreement)
- The written agreement, required under 42 CFR Part 2, that legally binds a QSO to resist third-party attempts (subpoenas, court orders) to access SUD treatment records except as narrowly allowed by law.
Rate Tier
- The classification that determines a provider's reimbursement rate, now tied directly to standardized financial reporting under SAPC IN 26-06.
SAMHSA
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads national public health efforts on SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery.
SAPC
- Substance Abuse Prevention and Control. A division of the LA County Department of Public Health that contracts with and oversees substance use disorder treatment providers countywide. "SAPC provider" refers to an organization under contract with this division.
SAPC IN (Information Notice)
- SAPC's numbered policy notices to providers — the county's standard way of communicating new requirements.
Single Audit
- The federal audit threshold (Single Audit Act) that applies to organizations whose federal award spending crosses a set dollar amount, referenced here as a forward-looking readiness consideration.
SUD (Substance Use Disorder)
- The clinical term for the conditions SAPC-contracted providers treat.
VBI (Value-Based Incentives)
- LA County DPH-SAPC's Payment Reform program, which ties incentive funding to specific submissions and deliverables; Cohort 3 is a VBI program year.
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