Compared to other healthcare sectors, the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) has been notably lower in the behavioral health field. Where more than 80% of hospitals use EHRs, only six percent of behavioral health facilities and 29% of substance use disorder treatment centers utilize EHRs.
As highlighted in the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) report, a lack of federal incentives has been a significant contributor to the low adoption rates of behavioral health EHRs. New legislation on the table could change all of that.
A Look Back at the 2009 HITECH Act
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 was a piece of legislation that was intended to promote the adoption and utilization of EHRs. Through the widespread use of EHRs, the goals were to improve care quality, minimize costs, and help the healthcare system operate more efficiently.
To support these initiatives, the HITECH Act introduced Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs. Through these programs, a large pool of qualified healthcare providers could receive significant incentive payments to help offset EHR implementation and use costs.
Notably, mental health professionals were excluded from this legislation.
The New BHIT Coordination Act
If passed, the Behavioral Health Information Technology (BHIT) Coordination Act would provide $20 million annually in grant funding over the next five fiscal years to behavioral health practices. Mental health, substance use disorder, and other providers could then use those funds to access better health information technology and support services.
For years, mental health providers have advocated for more funding to make the adoption of EHRs more cost-effective and feasible. This bill represents a significant step forward in closing the disparity gap with physical health and helping mental health practices improve their quality of care, simplify administrative tasks, and achieve better patient outcomes.
Consider, for instance, the interoperability that EHRs provide. A behavioral health provider can seamlessly exchange data with primary care physicians so a patient’s whole health is considered in treatment decisions. If a behavioral health provider has a patient with depression and anxiety that also has been diagnosed with hypertension, they can work with the physician to coordinate treatment plans that account for both their mental and physical conditions. This holistic approach drives better outcomes.
The Next Question: Which Behavioral Health EHR to Choose?
With the outlook of EHRs becoming more accessible to behavioral health providers, it’s a good time to start thinking about what qualities to look for in a behavioral health EHR.
As noted in a Digital Health Today article, another hang up in EHR adoption has been that traditional EHRs are a poor match for behavioral health workflows. Templates and forms are different, as are the documentation protocols. While this points to the benefit of an EHR designed specifically for behavioral health providers, it also underscores the importance of customization capabilities. That way, no matter your speciality, you’re able to adapt forms and workflows to meet your facility’s needs.
That’s what you’ll find with ClinicTracker. With more than 22 years of experience in the behavioral health marketplace, we’ve created an EHR that is designed specifically for behavioral health providers — with the flexibility to meet the needs of specialty programs. You can customize forms and progress notes, decide when a patient or clinician should fill out a form, determine when clinicians need to revise documents for compliance, and more.
Another source of apprehension for behavioral health providers about EHRs is security. With the rise of security breaches and the sensitive nature of behavioral health data, it’s natural for providers to be cautious about the transition to digital recordkeeping.
Comprehensive security is another cornerstone of ClinicTracker. Fine-grained controls help ensure that only authorized people have access to relevant patient records, while multiple safeguards are available in the form of password protection, idle timeouts, automatic logouts, two-factor authentication, encryption, and secure server access. Meanwhile, continual backups ensure that no patient information is lost as a result of a technical glitch or user error.
Want to learn more about the benefits that ClinicTracker offers? Request a demo.
