The Fixus MDS Aggregator is a purpose-built module designed to support lead agencies in the collection, validation, and aggregation of Minimum Data Set compliant data from external service providers. It streamlines the process of receiving data from distributed systems, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance with reporting requirements.

Distributed Episode Workflow

The distributed episode workflow ensures that Fixus manages incoming referrals and allocates them to external agencies, which handle episodes using their own software. These agencies then report their data back to Fixus, where it is aggregated for centralised reporting.

• The Lead Agency creates a reporting period in the MDS Aggregator.
• The Lead Agency manages staff records in the Fixus system ensuring that it has a practitioner record with a matching Practitioner Key for each reporting practitioner.
• Referrals are received into Fixus (this can occur via direct entry into Central Intake, Snapforms, API integration or the H2H gateway).
• The referral is converted to an episode and is allocated to an External Agency.
• The External Agency receives the episode including the Client Key and Episode Key. They manage the episode in their own software, creating service contact and assessment records.
• The External Agency generates a compliant MDS extract from their own software and uploads this to the Fixus MDS Aggregator.
• The Fixus MDS Aggregator matches the incoming records using the shared Client Key and Episode Key and updates its dataset using the supplied data.
• At the end of the reporting period the Lead Agency generates a combined MDS report and uploads this to the MDS portal.

The Validation Process

This section examines uploaded data files to ensure they meet the minimum data set standard by verifying the file format, required content, and size, while logging any discrepancies.

• Payload Check:
  • The service first checks if it received any data.
  • If no data is received, it logs an error and stops processing.
• Submission Upload Record:
  • It looks up the record associated with the data upload using the provided ID.
  • If the record isn’t found, it logs an error and stops processing.
  • It also notes who uploaded the file and when (using Australian Eastern Standard Time).
• Document Verification:
  • The service ensures that at least one document (file) is included in the data.
  • It retrieves the file details (like name and size) to check they exist.
• File Type and Size Check:
  • The file must be either a ZIP or an Excel (.xlsx) file.
  • The file size must be less than 512 MB.
  • If these conditions aren’t met, it logs an error and stops processing.
• Loading the File:
  • The service loads the file data into memory for further checks.
• Data Reading and Logging:
  • The service uses specific validators to read data from the file.
  • Each validator checks its part of the file and adds notes to a log.
• Record Processing:
  • Each validator then processes the records to ensure they meet the necessary standards.
  • The processing time for these checks is recorded and logged.
• Final Steps and Error Handling:
  • Once all checks are complete, the service logs the total processing time.
  • If any unexpected errors occur during this process, they are caught, logged, and reported.
  • Finally, the updated data (including any errors or logs) is returned.

What are the permission requirements for submitting data?

• Agencies must have the MDS Aggregator module enabled.
• Agencies must have a valid Organisation Path configured.
• Staff submitting data must have appropriate Fixus access.

What data validation rules does the aggregator enforce?

• Clients must have unique Client Keys.
• Episodes must be linked to a valid Client Key.
• Service contacts must have a valid date and practitioner record.
• Assessment scores are stored as provided but not recalculated.
• Practitioners must have a matching Practitioner Key and Organisation Path.

Why do practitioners need a matching Practitioner Key?

The Practitioner Key ensures that service contact records are properly linked to the correct practitioner. If no matching practitioner is found, the submission will fail validation.

Data Processing & Reporting

How does the Fixus MDS Aggregator process validated data?

Once a file passes validation, data is processed in the following order:

1. Clients
2. Practitioners
3. Intake
4. Intake Episodes
5. Episodes
6. Service Contacts
7. Assessments

Validation Order

Validation processors are executed in the following order:

• Clients
• Practitioners
• Intake
• Intake Episode
• IarDst
• Episodes
• Service Contact Practitioners
• Service Contacts
• Collection Occasion
• Assessments

Data Processing Order

Data processors are executed in the following order:

• Clients
• Practitioners
• Intake
• Intake Episode
• IarDst
• Episodes
• Service Contact Practitioners
• Service Contacts
• Collection Occasion
• Assessments

Practitioners

Managing practitioners is an important part of the workflow process described above.

Practitioner records must exists and contain matching Practitioner Key and Organisation Path values before a data import can be completed successfully.

Assessments

• The Assessor and AssessorId values are not provided – there is no way to know from the MDS data file.
• CollectionOccasionTags, K5Tags, K10pTags and SdqTags are being stored as column values – these values are not used or displayed by Fixus.
• Assessment Scores provided are stored as provided – we are not checking the calculation.

Configuration

Agencies

When configuring an agency:

• The agency must have the MDS Aggregator module enabled.
• The agency must have a single team with the PMHC program type enabled*
• The agency must have a valid “Provider Organisation Key“ configured that will match the OrganisationPath stored in provided import files. This can be either a partial key or the full key.

*It’s important to note that ONLY agencies with a single team enabled for PMHC are currently supported.

Practitioners

• A Staff Member record must be created for each practitioner.
• A Practitioner Key that matches the external reporting system must be set for each staff member record.

Troubleshooting & Common Issues

Why is my upload failing?

• Check that your file format is ZIP or Excel (.xlsx).
• Ensure file size is under 512 MB.
• Confirm that all required columns and values are included.
• Verify that Client Keys, Episode Keys, and Practitioner Keys are correct.
• Check the validation log provided by the Fixus platform.

How can I fix validation errors?

• Review the validation logs in the Fixus platform.
• Check the column formatting in your data.
• Ensure all required fields are populated correctly.
• Ensure that your data aligns with the PMHC V4 standard (if applicable).

Can I re-upload a corrected file after an error?

Yes, you can re-upload the corrected file. The system will reprocess the data and update the dataset accordingly.