If you’re running your own private behavioral health practice or managing a group practice, your role likely involves a combination of clinical functions and administrative requirements. Clinicians are focused on delivering quality care to patients, and managers need to ensure overall operations and compliance of the practice. Everybody gets involved to a certain degree with documentation, scheduling, billing, and tracking therapeutic progress and outcomes. If you are the person managing it all, it can get overwhelming.
While there is so much to keep track of in a behavioral health practice, all those requirements don’t have to impact your quality of care. The right behavioral health EHR and implementation can optimize these processes to make your practice more efficient while enhancing therapeutic interactions, patient engagement, and treatment outcomes. Implementing a behavioral health EHR will make things easier for you, and your patient experience will improve.
Higher Quality of Care
Behavioral health EHR implementation gives clinicians immediate access to clinical information and progress indicators so therapy can be more targeted and effective. Clinical data is front and center, with no opportunity to fall through the cracks. Patients feel seen and have better engagement when there is a clear connection between their overall goals, their recent symptoms and progression, and the insights and strategies that their clinician brings into the session.
Measurement-based care, a priority at CarePaths, is known to increase patient engagement and improve therapy outcomes. However, fewer than 20% of therapists are routinely using measurement-based care. A behavioral health EHR system can automate the necessary measures by collecting data directly from patients and delivering the results to clinicians by the next session. Patients and clinicians alike now have the opportunity to bring this data into their therapeutic interaction.
More Efficient Processes
With so many administrative tasks involved at any given time, therapy practices need a streamlined solution. Suppose that you currently use different systems to manage your notes, scheduling, communications, billing, and teletherapy sessions. You know how much time and energy it takes to balance it all and how ideal it would be for one system to solve everything.
A behavioral health EHR gives patients direct access to scheduling, secure messaging, and teletherapy, all in one familiar place. You assure compliance when you can automatically confirm timely and complete documentation and take advantage of simplified billing processes. In addition, you can generate alerts and notifications to patients or staff when needed. The American Psychological Association highlights coordination of care, flexibility, security, and convenience as significant advantages of using a behavioral health EHR.
Not all EHRs are the same, and many fall short in one way or another. Some focus on notes and treatment plans but leave out measurement-based care, and others enable clinicians to manage their schedules internally but lack the ability for clients to schedule on their own. Even fewer will offer invoicing, secure messaging, and teletherapy capabilities within the same system.
You know what is important to you and your practice, so consider the benefits of using a single system that support staff, clinicians, and patients can all become familiar with and that has responsive support when you need it. CarePaths EHR recognizes the importance of a system that’s tailored to a practice’s needs and workflows from start to finish.
Behavioral Health EHR and Implementation
A multidisciplinary approach is necessary when implementing a behavioral health EHR. It is crucial to involve all levels of staff to establish a project plan and plan for governance. By speaking with all team members, you ensure that all aspects of practice workflows are covered and that you will provide everyone with adequate education and training on the new system.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology provides valuable guidance on the pre-implementation and implementation stages of a new behavioral health EHR. Following these tips and collaborating with your new behavioral health EHR support team will set up your practice for a smooth transition. The CarePaths EHR support team is ready to jump in and help you every step of the way.
CarePaths EHR was created by clinicians to emphasize improved quality of care and more efficient practice management. This behavioral health EHR gives therapists the tools that they need to be more effective and to improve therapy outcomes through measurement-based care. CarePaths is a unique behavioral health EHR and implementation solution designed to meet the needs of clinicians and practice managers alike.
Here at CarePaths, we help therapists work more effectively and improve patient outcomes by empowering them with the data that they need via EHR. To learn more about how we can help you, start your free trial today!
