The bill mandates the establishment of a secure, real-time statewide behavioral health vacancy registry by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Oklahoma. This registry aims to facilitate clinically appropriate placements for individuals in need of mental health services, particularly in situations involving emergency detention or protective custody. It will include essential information such as current capacity counts, populations served, levels of care, admission criteria, and contact procedures for placements. Facilities are required to register with the Department and update their capacity status at least once per hour while accepting referrals, with the possibility of alternative reporting frequencies for low-volume settings.

Additionally, the bill requires the Department to create uniform data definitions related to capacity, age bands, diagnostic groupings, and levels of care, ensuring compliance with state and federal privacy laws. Importantly, the registry will not include any protected health information of identifiable patients, adhering to regulations such as HIPAA. The data collected may be utilized for de-identified analytics and public reporting. The act is set to take effect on November 1, 2026.