Best EMRs for Psychiatry

Psychiatry practices play a crucial role when meeting the mental health care needs of people, as depicted by data on behavioral health care in the population. This population segment has complex issues, which need to be addressed appropriately by their medical professionals. These needs are usually defined by a patient population that is more vulnerable to co-occurring medical conditions than other patients. They require proper care to minimize the risk of chronic health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

An all-in-one psychiatry EMR software can better cater to a psychiatry practice to meet their daily needs, only if selection teams can match their practice's requirements with the right solution.

Deploying a Psychiatry in your practice provides multiple benefits that you and your clinical staff should consider as you plan to make the switch:

Streamlined Documentation

Dealing with the human mind is a complicated procedure, and it certainly requires a lot of time and patience. It can even take up to years before a mental health issue is resolved. In a worst-case scenario, it can also be chronic. 

You know the documentation that should be in place for each patient. This includes records from:

• When the patient first visited the practice
• Patient history
• Dates of admission - if relevant.
• Date patient was released.
• Medications prescribed
• Any incidences of relapse
• Appointments dates

If patients can fill in their documents digitally instead of risking transferring data in written form, even better, this increases accuracy.

Secure Patient Data

Securing all the sensitive data that a practice generates and collects for its patients is essential. Otherwise, there is a violation of HIPAA requirements that protect their privacy and counter criminals if found guilty of identity theft. A Psychiatry EHR Software protects your healthcare practice against the loss, destruction, or theft of data way better than paper-based records.

Better Service Delivery Efficiencies

Physicians can quickly share useful information, such as treatment plans and patient diagnosis. The Psychiatry-specific software will offer encrypted, secure communication, ensuring that it stays confidential and safe.

Enhanced Productivity and Profitability

Generally, when operations are smooth, productivity increases as :

Improved Medication Management

Behavioral and medical health mostly involves several medications, as providers fine-tune their patients' prescription strengths. If you save time with e-prescribing, your patients can get their medications once they reach the pharmacy, as your clinical staff will already have transmitted the details to the medical store.

Ease of Access

The main benefit of deploying a Psychiatry EHR Software is that it allows your providers to respond to life-threatening emergencies instantly - the records can be accessed through any internet-connected device. Doctors on rounds can reply to a query through their devices without having to go back to the office to address the problem.

• Psychiatry EHR offers more efficient billing operations. The solution streamlines the time-consuming tasks and ensures that insurance claims are filed correctly while keeping a record of deposits and payments and generating accurate billing statements. Thus, significantly reducing the hassle for the administrative staff
• Cloud-based technology enables quick access via the internet using any device, at any given time
• The software also allows users to streamline revenue cycle management by tracking profits and taking care of patient billing
• Users can confidently charge the right level of service with the built-in E & M coding
• Scheduling in Psychiatry software takes care of issues related to the availability of beds or multiple appointments. It also reduces no-shows because automated appointment reminders keep patients updated with their treatment plans

Medication monitoring and management

Mental illnesses often co-exist with other physical diseases. Therefore, psychiatric practices should opt for the EHR system that allows providers to monitor a patient's health by sharing data with other providers. They should also follow the medications patients are taking and be alarmed if there's any risk of a harmful drug interaction.

Telemedicine

In addition to scheduling and communication features, a psychiatry EHR Software must also include telemedicine support. It allows patients and practitioners to conduct sessions and communicate efficiently.

Patient Portal

Forget queuing up in the doctor's rooms to fill out the necessary patient information. Advanced software systems allow patients to complete assessments from the comfort of their own homes via patient portals. It also provides for the following:

• Patients can view their balances
• They receive their statements
• Real-time charting

Practice Management

With this feature, it's easier for your practice to generate charges directly from the calendar automatically. This eliminates errors and oversights caused by manual data entry. The same software will also enable better managing of all revenue aspects, including clinical and appointment reports.

Regulatory compliance 

Psychiatry practices often come across multiple regulatory compliance considerations other than the basic HIPAA standards concerning the security and privacy of personal information. Psychiatry practices should go for software that will be able to take care of these functions and complies with the layers of regulations that cover multiple facets of patient privacy.

Fully Integrated Mobile Application

It's no secret how mobile phones have made many areas of our lives simpler. Their convenience can also be utilized in practice set up by sending appointment reminders to patients. Having your psychiatry EMR mobile app will allow you to efficiently manage appointment schedules on the go, at any time and place.

The APA has outlined two sets of requirements for psychiatry EHR:  User and Systems requirements

User requirements mean functionality and features that a medical software user will require to perform daily operations. These include:

• Medical Billing
• Appointments 
• Order entry
• Clinical charting
• General documentation
• Patient access through patient portals
• Reporting

While system requirements include EHR functionality, it keeps the software updated and protects patient and clinical data from being compromised by third parties.

Is Behavioral Health EHR & Psychiatry EHR the same?

• Just like behavioral health and psychiatry are not the same, a behavioral health EMR & a psychiatry specific EMR are not the same.  While psychiatry practice may use a BH EMR, it will have a lot of features not necessarily needed by a psychiatry practice. It is especially true for treatment plans, notes, and sub-notes. 

The cost of Psychiatry EHR systems depends on several factors, such as the number of features offered, the number of providers, specialty, software deployment, and pricing model provided by the vendor.

Here are a few facts to consider for Psychiatry-specific  software pricing:

• Cloud-based solutions are usually cheaper than server-based EMR software
• Per-visit pricing models are available for small practices
• Some vendors offer free data migration

If you require our assistance to help shortlist Psychiatry EMR vendors based on your unique practice needs, get in touch by calling us at 661 384 7070 or emailing us at [email protected].

Mental health practices have unique EHR requirements, as opposed to other healthcare practices. There's a long list of considerations for mental health practitioners when deciding on buying solutions for automating workflows. Moreover, the administrative workload makes software search even more challenging for such private practices. Here are a few vendors to consider:

Kareo

Kareo is a cloud-based EHR solution that includes integrated EHR, practice management, and medical billing capabilities. The software offers features to cater to the needs of mental and behavioral health private practices. Key features include initial patient assessments, appointment scheduling, e-prescribing, claims management, and treatment plans.

NextGen Healthcare

NextGen Healthcare offers EHR and practice management solutions to support features such as treatment plans, appointment scheduling, initial assessments, e-prescribing, claims management, etc. The software can be hosted in the cloud or deployed on-premise.

NueMD

NueMD is a cloud-based EHR solution that offers EHR, practice management, and medical billing capabilities. The software also offers features specific to mental health practices, including patient scheduling, e-prescribing, care plan management, and assessment management.

Many trends are happening in EHRs for psychiatry software. Here are a few you should consider for your practice when selecting a vendor:

• Software as a Service (SaaS) - Cloud-based solutions are emerging quickly in healthcare. Reasons such as developments in HIPAA compliance, data security, and encryption, server reliability, data backup, etc. make web-based software systems a better alternative for psychiatry practices.  
• Mobile device support - Medical professionals now prefer to work from their mobile devices for tackling emergencies. They can access data on the go via tablets, smartphones, etc. Psychiatry EMR software vendors are offering improved support for wireless devices. So, when on the hunt for a Psychiatry EHR software, consider mobile support. 
• ONC-ATCB certification - This is among the most critical trends in psychiatric software. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was into law by President Obama. It is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. It allows qualified practices to earn up to $44,000 in reimbursements in the form of increased Medicaid and Medicare incentives.
• Telemedicine for psychiatry practices - Telepsychiatry has seen a sudden push under COVID-19.  Waivers & payment parity for telehealth visits prompted many psychiatrists to provide their services online either through telemedicine software or phone calls.  To learn more visit out telemedicine success toolkit 2020.
• The relatively low cost of technology and the patient's willingness to meet their provider online also played a part in the easy adoption of this technology. It is still too early to predict if this trend will continue well in the future.
• Cyber-security - Over the years, several cybersecurity breaches have occurred in mental health facilities across the world. Psychiatrists state their reservation on the protection of data in the cloud as one of the leading reasons for not going digital in their medical practices.

• EMR companies, such as AdvancedMD, are working on introducing advanced security features, especially for psychiatry practices. These include audit trails, the ability to de-indentify patient notes, to name a few.

Are there EHR solutions that are designed specifically for psychiatry?

Yes! Many vendors offer software specifically to the mental and psychiatry community. To review medical software that is geared toward mental health providers, visit our psychiatry EMR listing

Does APA recommend a specific EMR system for Psychiatry Practices?

No APA has not made any recommendations.  The right system will vary practice to practice depending on your needs. Please get in touch with our EMR consultants to learn more.

What are the top 5 EHR systems for Psychiatry Practices?

Our Top EHR Vendors List includes: