Embracing Technology and Networks to Connect Care and Reduce Costs

Today’s existing healthcare silos can be costly, both financially and in the quality of the care that is being delivered. The recent shifts in clinical and care coordination models driven by various value-based care initiatives require a more collaborative approach to care across the continuum.

Technology makes it easier to adopt practices and workflows that make providing care more unified, effective and efficient. Without it, organizations experience operational inconsistencies and inefficiencies that can come with a paper-based system, such as disconnected manual processes, human error and duplicative testing. All of these can lead to high costs and decreased satisfaction among clinicians and patients alike.

But what if your organization already has technology in place, such as an electronic health record (EHR)? Is this simply all that is needed for your organization to thrive in a value-based care world? Or, does it take more than an EHR?  Today’s most successful providers can’t claim their success without connectivity and interoperability between themselves and partner providers across health systems and ambulatory provider networks. Your technology needs to smoothly facilitate care collaboration and coordination between all settings of healthcare.

Adopting integrated technology is essential to bridge any gaps that occur as individuals traverse care settings. When looking to adopt technology solutions, providers should look for key capabilities such as:

• Connecting to a network of providers, or the ability to share data across local health information exchanges (HIEs) or larger interoperability frameworks such as Carequality
• Allowing providers to access multiple resources such as pharmacies, prescription drug registries, etc. Particularly for addiction and substance use treatment providers, it’s especially important to have a platform that supports robust consent management workflow to ensure the right data is shared at the right place at the right time.
• Enabling clinical summaries of patient histories to flow easily and securely between EHRs and providers supporting care coordination and integrated care models

Having the right technology in place can allow healthcare providers to embrace the power of networks so individuals can receive the best, most cost-effective care possible.

Watch our webinar with the Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare where Netsmart Vice Presidents AJ Peterson and Jeff O’Berry discuss in more detail how healthcare organizations can leverage technology to break down silos and become more efficient and cost-effective.