Therapists and social workers enter the mental health field to support and protect their patients. However, clerical strain can often become as burdensome as the work of mental healthcare itself. Clinician-centered EHR systems put therapists first by reducing working time away from patients and supporting therapists in their goal to provide the best care possible.
Many therapists and other behavioral health professionals know that along with providing direct patient care comes a litany of administrative responsibilities, from doing standard paperwork to taking down notes and information specific to each client. In this way, therapists take on burdens outside the confines of working directly with their patients. With the adoption of a behavioral health-focused EHR system, therapists and social workers can reduce time spent on administrative tasks and focus more on their passion for helping patients improve their lives.
A mental health-focused EHR system can reduce the time spent on simple clerical tasks like filing and pulling patient records. A recent study of behavioral health practices utilizing an EHR platform found that “mental health clinicians highlighted efficiency, the time-saving merit of the system, in completing electronic attendance and daily documentation tasks.” Therefore, a behavioral health-focused EHR system benefits therapists by enabling them to efficiently, effectively, and easily store and access patient information.
In addition to smoothing out data collection, an EHR platform enables therapists to access patient information remotely. Another study on the use of these systems found that “[p]roviders in most practices particularly liked accessing records from home, which enabled some of them to go home earlier, spend time with family, and then work later in the evening.” In this way, an EHR system can benefit therapists by reducing clerical effort and improving their ease of access to patient records, thereby yielding new flexibility in their practice.
Another pain point for therapists that a behavioral health-focused EHR system can relieve is the coordination of billing. Therapists must deal with patients and their insurers in order to be paid properly. With many different insurance providers that may deny or dispute claims, funding patient services can be incredibly tedious. Most behavioral health EHR systems include billing software, which can benefit small practices by enabling them to generate and submit claims quickly and easily, as well as keep track of patient co-pays. In a study of fourteen solo or small group practices that utilized an EHR platform, “virtually all” providers used the system for help with billing, proving its usefulness in the field.
Finally, an EHR platform can benefit therapists by assisting with the compliance and regulations of the state in which they practice. Jung et al. found that “[r]egulatory compliance had always been a delicate issue when working on paper. However, it proved to be less of a burden when the mental health care EHR managed to satisfy the surveyors with what was mandated.” Therefore, a well-designed EHR system can give therapists a good sense of well-being, knowing that they are meeting their regulatory requirements, including HIPAA and the No Surprises Act.
Therapists care deeply about their patients’ well-being, and adopting a behavioral health EHR system can benefit those patients, thus improving the therapists’ sense of purpose and professional success. Behavioral health EHR systems improve standards of patient care by supporting collaborative interdisciplinary care, creating a platform for telehealth, and reducing patient costs.
As the mental health field progresses, many therapists agree that the link between physiological and psychological health is deeply important. Patients with histories of mental illness also have an increased risk of coexisting medical conditions and shorter lifespans. These patients will need to see multiple doctors in multiple fields, and collaboration among providers is crucial for positive health outcomes.
Mental health EHR systems enable collaboration by providing a platform for different providers to securely view records from their peers. A 2015 study found that “[a]doption of EHR systems by behavioral health systems and solo practitioners may yield promising outcomes for patients, particularly outcomes related to improved understanding about co-occurring health conditions and implications for comprehensive health care.”
A behavioral health EHR system can also benefit patients and therapists by providing a platform for teletherapy. It has been shown that people with mental illnesses, particularly substance abuse disorders, can be helped by having remote access to therapy. Therapists also benefit from a well-functioning telehealth platform because they have the ability to remotely monitor patients for CBT and check for medication adherence. In this way, clinicians can earn more and improve the quality of care simultaneously.
Finally, an EHR system can improve the overall quality of care by reducing patient costs. Jung et al. argue that “[p]eople with mental illnesses also have higher rates of coexisting medical diseases . . . and health care costs that are 2-3 times those of people without mental illnesses. If medical information is shared and managed between medical institutions, this problem can be effectively managed by reducing duplicate prescriptions and proactively detecting and intervening in psychiatric problems.” Therefore, an EHR platform can help therapists work with other healthcare providers to offer patients whole-person care at a reduced cost.
Mental health EHR systems benefit therapists because they can streamline tedious processes, saving providers time and effort. They simultaneously offer an improved standard of patient care by reducing patient costs and improving access to telehealth. To accomplish these goals, mental health practices should adopt an EHR system.
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!
