Work: An Intimate Act

Intimacy, the workplace, and EHR adoption…it reads like a joke. The kind that uses the bizarre coupling of concepts and leads to the punchline, “…so the duck says, “Put it on my bill.””

Yet, as a caregiver committed to organizational fitness I believe that a broader view of population health is where we are headed. And now that the ACA is actively defining ‘workplace wellness’, there has never been a more perfect time to explore the relational overlap of work, intimacy, and EHR adoption.

Talking about personal interactions at work implies a relatively new demand being placed on the work environment; one for sustainability that refers to personal as well as professional systems. Not that ‘relations’ haven’t always been a part of management concerns. But with the continued lengthening of work hours and decline in job security – stressors not softened by social supports like paid family leave and universal child care – interpersonal dynamics often associated with private life are making the scary leap into the workplace. And as leaders promoting the bandwidth for this conversation, it may feel risky at times – but probably not as much as we fear.

I was recently asked to describe the moment when I stopped selling electronic health record (EHR) software and truly became an advocate for providers in the world of behavioral health and record cycle management.  How had this happened?  Why?

Doing research for my organization, something important had become apparent:  The behavioral healthcare market is not the most profitable of healthcare markets, and nor is it likely to become so.  As a matter of fact many EHR vendors avoid serving this community entirely.  And, although there may be many reasons for this, one obvious factor is that public mental and behavioral health patients are among the poorest of patient communities. Behavioral health providers receive some of the lowest in insurance reimbursements.  In addition to these facts, mental health advocates find that the rules and regulations they must follow are stringent and highly-regulated.

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When looking for innovative solutions to challenges associated with managing a mental or behavioral healthcare practice, we know that asking the ‘right’ questions often leads to solutions unthought-of before.  These not only address immediate concerns, but propel our practices into the future we want for ourselves and our clients. 

Finding the best Mental Health EHR for your practice is a journey that can begin as simply as What?  Why? and, most importantly, How?

• What challenges does our practice face that can be addressed by an EHR? 
• What needs aren’t being met within our practice that could be met with an EHR?
• What haven’t I thought of when considering what I want an EHR to do for our practice that might make a difference?
• Why have we continued to use our current information and record keeping systems as long as we have?
• Why have we hesitated from adopting an EHR up until now?
• Why haven’t we stepped up to these challenges and incorporated new policies that will address some of the needs of our organization?
• How can we graduate from our current EHR that may have done an okay job of getting us off of paper, but is now crippling productivity and staff moral? 
• How can we make a case for moving to a better behavioral health EHR?

Juggling…with One Hand Behind Our Back!

Providers are constantly building upon their understanding of the struggles that their clients face. New developments lead the way as practices consider and reconsider the effectiveness of their programs. Often they are working with hands tied by bureaucracy and by the limited availability of resources, and the limited time they have with their clients. 

“Losing track of time is a sign of a fully engaged brain.”
 – Author unknown

Rightly so…as students and professionals within mental and behavioral healthcare have plenty enough to think about without spending disproportionate time: tracking clinical hours, charting and completing analysis, compiling data into graphs and reports, following up with supervisors, meeting professional and student guidelines, and keeping client data clearly organized.  

The process can seem never ending.

Here at everythingEHR we know how important and challenging it can be to track clinical hours and store data with software while managing your practicum and curriculum requirements.   We also know how a clunky system – whether in school or the workplace – can eat hours of your day and deter you from what you truly love to do. 

As advocates for agencies who manage valuable patient information we are asked daily which EHR a behavioral health provider should choose.  Buzz words are often thrown around such as “cloud-based” and “web-access”, which for many still are intangible terms when it comes to record security and applicability.

Cloud Computing

More than a decade ago, engineers figured out ways for data and software to be distributed efficiently across several machines and their power pooled for collective use. In the simplest of terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of a computer’s hard drive.  A cloud computing platform refers to the efficient management of systems and networks of data storage over the Internet.  The term itself is an airy metaphor for systems of intelligently orchestrated global networks of millions of computers, harnessing, using, and then renting huge amounts of computing power.  It no longer matters which servers are running a job or from where; it is just inside this “cloud” of machines. 

We are asked on a daily basis which EHR a behavioral health provider should choose to run their organizations. Buzz words are thrown around like “cloud-based” and “web-access”.  While it is true that the technology world is going the way of all things in the cloud, what exactly is the cloud?  

When a software company tells you they are “in the cloud” what does that mean exactly? How do you know your data isn’t sitting on one or two dusty servers somewhere with your patient data being backed up to a less than secure source in someone’s office? Who has access to this patient data? How often are passwords changed and updated on these servers? Are these servers all in the same location or spread around the country?

With a stable and financially secure behavioral health EHR vendor it means your data is:

• Hosted on multiple servers in multiple states
• Backed up to secure sources
• Set up so that if your EHR goes down you are back up and running immediately with minimal to zero data loss (meaning your data lives and breathes on more than one server)

Confused by which Behavioral Health electronic health record system you should purchase for your organization? Many sales demos are not very helpful; in fact, they are full of trickery. Join our CEO, Kristin Walker as she pulls back the curtain and reveals what’s really behind all the bells and whistles that your Behavioral Health EHR vendor is trying to persuade you to buy.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW!

Have further questions? Make sure you contact our team before you make that all important purchase. Having issues with your current mental health EHR?  Maybe it is time to switch.  Kristin and her team of clinical advisors can guide you through the process.

A possible reprieve for healthcare providers and vendors has been announced that may approve an extension of the Meaningful Use timeline.  What does this mean to our mental health providers and vendors?  

The only vendors we support are those that have already passed Meaningful Use Stage 2 Certification for 2014.  We are in full support of how this possible ruling will help our behavioral health providers and organizations.   We are also, once again, proud of our vendors that have already met 2014 requirements.  The Behavioral and Mental Health vendors we support have the funds (staying power) to meet exceedingly strict regulations without the need for this reprieve.  

This is yet another question to ask an EHR vendor.  Did they need the reprieve?  Have they passed MU2 already?  

Read the full article posted on Healthcare IT News here.