Rio assessment forms are available in six styles. For national dataset compliance, choosing the right style is essential, only certain styles support the content validation needed to enforce mandatory fields.
⚠️Important: For any form that captures national dataset mandatory fields, use Style 4 or Style 6. These are the only styles that support content validation, the mechanism for preventing form submission without required data.
Form styles at a glance
Style | Type | Editable | Validation | Auto save | Best for national datasets |
Style 1 | Structured | Yes | No | No | Not recommended. no mandatory field enforcement. |
Style 2 | Structured (read only) | No | No | No | Not for data entry. |
Style 3 | Hyperlink | Yes | No | No | Navigation forms only, not for data capture. |
Style 4 | Editable structured with validation | Yes | Yes | Yes (with validation) | Recommended for MHSDS/CSDS assessment forms. |
Style 5 | Editable structured (no validation) | Yes | No | No | Simple supplementary forms where validation is not required. |
Style 6 | Editable structured with validation (extended) | Yes | Yes | Yes (with validation) | Recommended for Section 117, HoNOS, and complex MHSDS forms. |
Recommended form styles by dataset
Form purpose | Dataset | Recommended style | Mandatory fields | Content validation |
HoNOS assessment | MHSDS | Style 4 or 6 | Yes, all HoNOS subscales. | Required. |
Employment and accommodation status | MHSDS | Style 4 or 6 | Yes, all four MHSDS fields. | Required. |
Section 117 entitlement | MHSDS | Style 6 (specified in Admin Guide) | Yes, eligibility start date, end date, code. | Required. |
NDTMS data collection | MHSDS | Style 4 or 6 | Yes, per NDTMS specification. | Required. |
Child health assessment | CSDS | Style 4 or 6 | Yes, per CSDS specification. | Required. |
Clinical risk assessment | Local / MHSDS | Style 4 or 6 | Yes, risk level, date, reviewer. | Required. |
Supplementary clinical notes | Local only | Style 1 or 5 | Optional. | Not required. |
Structured vs free text which to use
For nationally coded fields, always use structured pick lists rather than free text. Free text cannot be reliably extracted or validated by the pre-assembler.
Field type | Use structured (pick list) | Use free text |
Employment Status | Yes, GenEmpStatus pick list. | No, MHSDS requires a coded value. |
Accommodation Status | Yes, GenAccommodationStatus pick list. | No, MHSDS requires a coded value. |
Ethnicity | Yes, national coded pick list. | No, CDS/MHSDS require a national code. |
Referral Source | Yes, AmsReferralSource pick list. | No, CDS/MHSDS require a coded value. |
Consultation Medium | Yes, AmsAppointmentConsultationMedium. | No, MHSDS/CSDS require a coded value. |
Discharge Destination | Yes, ImsDischargeDestination. | No, CDS requires a coded value. |
HoNOS Score | Yes, numeric score fields on assessment form. | No, MHSDS requires a structured numeric score. |
Clinical narrative / reason | Not required. | Yes, free text comment fields are acceptable for supplementary context not extracted for national reporting. |