Connected Care in a Connected World
Kevin Scalia, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Netsmart Technologies
Over the last several years, behavioral
healthcare providers have instituted
a variety of programs and initiatives
designed to improve access to and quality
of care for clients. These have taken
many forms, including “no wrong door,”“integrated client care” and others.
The reality is that care is becoming
more complex, and many behavioral
health providers believe they will never
have the funding they feel is required
to deliver the level of care they think
is truly needed. Trained to maximize
human potential, clinicians fi nd
themselves pushing paper instead of
serving clients in need. Therefore, a
breakthrough is required in the way
care is delivered. Connected care is
that breakthrough. For the past several
years, much of the discussion has been
around electronic health records. While
EHRs are critical to ensuring clinical
processes are automated, they may
not be enough.
The EHR is only the
foundation to a larger goal – to provide
connected care.
In its simplest terms, connected care is
sharing clinical information within your organization,
with other care providers, and
with clients themselves — all in an effort
to provide the highest quality care. |
|
Make Sure a Vendor Can Get the Job Done
Look for vendors with sufficient tools and practices to ensure a successful software implementation
by Carol Reynolds, PMP
The responsibility for software project implementation often resides with an organization's operations or information technology management areas. This is not only true in behavioral health and substance abuse organizations, but across other sectors as well.
What to Look for in Methadone Clinic Software
IT solutions can save time, produce better data and help with the bottom line
by David Blumenthal and Ray Stoddard
Directors of outpatient methadone clinics always are balancing costs against benefits. Because they need to manage within budgets, they must be absolutely certain that improvements will yield an appropriate return on investment (ROI). Today, many technology vendors are making their software solutions very affordable, creating new opportunities for methadone clinic directors to upgrade service delivery. As a result, this is an appropriate time to revisit the considerations for evaluating methadone clinic management software.
EMRs and Database Structures
What to consider as you tailor an electronic medical record to meet your organization's needs
by Lisabeth Haines, MD
Behavioral healthcare providers of all types are implementing electronic medical records (EMRs). Justifiably, much attention is being paid to issues of client/patient privacy, clinician work flow, and the EMR's impact on resources and procedures. A sometimes underemphasized element of EMR implementation is content design—how to capture and manage information. To be successful in their EMR deployments, organizations must devote adequate time and resources to designing an EMR that exploits the underlying database to advance the organization's goals, embody its culture, and execute its policies.
Computer Reseller News • Friday, May 12, 2006
Caché-ing In On Database Software Solutions
Database software solution provider partners with ISV-and reaps the monetary rewards.
