Azara Healthcare and Netsmart Partner to Increase Continuity of Care Across Behavioral Health and Primary Care for Consumers in Missouri

This industry-leading partnership is designed to share critical data across clients served by the Missouri Primary Care Association and the Missouri Behavioral Health Council members

Burlington, MA – April. 09, 2024 – Azara Healthcare, a provider of population health management and value-based care solutions, and Netsmart, an industry-leading healthcare IT company and population health management platform provider for health home organizations, managed care organizations (MCOs), human services and post-acute care providers nationwide, today announce their pilot collaboration with healthcare providers in Missouri  to share patient data between care settings. The partnership aims to advance primary care and behavioral health integration with the goal of improved care delivery and health outcomes for individuals throughout the state. The data exchange will include specified information for individuals treated at participating Missouri Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) who also receive services from a Missouri Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

Individuals living with a mental health diagnosis are more likely to have chronic physical health conditions that require longer-term care, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV. The more comorbidities a person has, the more severe and numerous their complications may become—which further contributes to the complexity of mental health treatment.  Acquiring the health information necessary to effectively treat these populations can be challenging—especially when individuals are seen in multiple care settings that do not commonly share data, like CCBHCs and FQHCs.

To address whole-person care and improve both mental and physical health outcomes for individuals that span both settings, the Missouri Primary Care Association (MPCA) and the Missouri Behavioral Health Council (MBHC) are enabling the sharing of critical patient data between participating CCBHCs and FQHCs and plan to expand this model across the state. By exchanging data, Netsmart and Azara will be able to identify matched cases between FQHCs and CCBHCs, addressing care transitions and long-term care needs through person-centered planning.

MPCA centers currently use Azara DRVS and Azara Care Connect for population health and value-based care program management, while MBHC members are using the Netsmart CareManager platform to conduct population health management and value-based care programs and benchmarking. Netsmart CareManager^™ is an award-winning platform that provides care coordination, interoperability, analytics, outcomes and risk stratification. The success of both the Azara and Netsmart solutions improving population health in Missouri created a natural fit for this partnership.

“We are excited about the possibility of expanding this model across Missouri and elsewhere in the country” said Jeff Brandes, President & CEO of Azara, “better informed and integrated whole-person care is a critical step on the path to overall wellness for thousands of patients across the US.” 

"We’ve had continued success in the state of Missouri, serving as a leading technology provider of population health management and integrated electronic health records statewide and look forward to advancing the work we’re doing with MBHC and CCBHCs through this strategic partnership,” said Scott Green, SVP & Managing Director of CareDimensions, Netsmart. “Our integrated approach enables providers to deliver whole-person care through an outcomes-based strategy, emphasizing value-based care programs. With our combined dataset of behavioral and physical health data, we're empowering providers across the state to make a meaningful difference in consumer outcomes."

Azara Media Contact:
John Gonda
Sage Growth Partners
jgonda@sagegrowth.com

Netsmart Media Contact:
Natalie Caruso
ncaruso@ntst.com 

About Azara Healthcare
Azara Healthcare, the 2023 Best in KLAS population health management solution, is the leading provider of quality measurement, analytics and reporting for the Community Health and physician practice market. Azara solutions empower more than 1,000 Community Health Centers, physician practices, Primary Care Associations, Health Center Controlled Networks, and clinically integrated networks in 41 states to improve the quality and efficiency of care for more than 25 million Americans through actionable data. To learn more about Azara Healthcare, visit www.azarahealthcare.com.

About Netsmart

Netsmart, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) technology and services solutions, designs, builds and delivers electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchanges (HIEs), analytics and telehealth solutions and services that are powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use. Our platform provides accurate, up-to-date information that is easily accessible to care team members in the human services and post-acute care (which is comprised of home care and hospice and senior living) markets. We make the complex simple and personalized so our clients can concentrate on what they do best: provide services and treatment that support whole-person care.

By leveraging the powerful Netsmart network, care providers can seamlessly and securely integrate information across communities, collaborate on the most effective treatments and improve outcomes for those in their care. Our streamlined systems and personalized workflows put relevant information at the fingertips of users when and where they need it.