At MedSys Group, we are proud of the content we produce to inform our clients on important topics regarding Healthcare IT. However, occasionally, we find content that can be incredibly useful and provide valuable insights for our audience. Such is the case for this fantastic article on Behavioral Health, “Digitizing The Behavioral Health Record to Benefit Patients and Providers.” Written by Danny Gladden, Director of Behavioral Health and Social Care at Oracle Health.
We have summarized some of its key points below.
Oracle Health’s article discusses the crucial role of digitizing behavioral health records to improve patient care and provider efficiency. It highlights several key points:
1. Integration Challenges: It notes that behavioral and medical records are often stored and managed separately due to outdated privacy laws, which limits interoperability and prevents a complete view of a patient’s health history.
2. Reimbursement Issues: The report also points out that payers often do not reimburse behavioral health services, restricting patient access to necessary mental health services.
3. Digital Adoption in Substance Abuse Centers: The article mentions that substance abuse centers have a higher rate of digital record adoption compared to other behavioral health services, which can lead to better patient outcomes and streamlined care processes.
4. The Impact of EHRs: A well-designed Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is an important tool that can alleviate the need for patients to repeatedly share their traumatic histories with new providers, thus reducing emotional distress and improving the efficiency of care delivery.
MedSys Group is supporting various clients as they transition their Behavioral Health facilities either to or from existing EHR platforms. Having been immersed in this and seeing firsthand the impacts of this transition, we asked a few of our Behavioral Health experts to share their thoughts on this article.
Q: What are your thoughts on the integration of Behavioral Medical Records?
While the author is right to point out the inefficiencies and drawbacks of segregated records, which I agree with, this was largely seen in the past. Healthcare centers are pushing back on separating records through storage locations and care team access. In alignment with current trends, one of our clients is proactively designing integrated records systems to ensure that all care providers have comprehensive access to essential information, facilitating holistic patient care across various settings
Q: What are you seeing in Behavioral Health facilities related to reimbursement issues?
The author points out an important outcome of care reimbursement issues: patients cannot access the care they need. To combat these issues, we actively assist healthcare systems in securing grants for essential technology and hardware. This strategic funding acquisition supports the expansion of accessible and effective behavioral health services, thereby overcoming financial obstacles that hinder patient care.
Q: What is something new you discovered?
That substance abuse centers had a higher rate of digitized records than other behavioral and mental health services. This underscores the potential benefits of broader technological advancements in Behavioral Health.
Q: How could MedSys implement strategies/ ideas based on what is mentioned?
Consistent with the best practices suggested in the Oracle article, MedSys’ approach to EHR implementation emphasizes early and comprehensive data migration. This ensures that from day one, practitioners have at their fingertips all the necessary and vital information, thereby facilitating seamless and informed patient interactions We also include Health Information Exchange (HIE) in project value objectives to ensure medical record information is mobile and accessible when needed.
Q: What is MedSys Group currently doing in the behavioral health space, and where do we intend to go?
MedSys Group works with small and large health systems with acute, outpatient, and telehealth medicine. We plan to expand into long-term residential facility settings as funding for these areas permits system implementation and optimization.
If you have not been exposed to behavioral health care, it might be easy to dismiss how important it is to some patients not to have to relive hurtful past experiences. This author sheds light on this risk and how a well-designed electronic health record (EHR) can remove this burden from the patient at intake.
