Mental Health Center Partners With State HIE To Provide Coordinated Care
By Julia Ernst, contributing writer
The collaboration between the most populous county in Kansas and the state’s Health Information Network will allow for the electronic exchange of patient data throughout the continuum of care.
The Johnson County Mental Health Center (JCMHC) in Kansas has partnered with the Kansas Health Information Network’s (KHIN) health information exchange in an effort to provide coordinated care in the state’s most populous county.
KHIN provides health organizations in Kansas with a secure electronic network for the exchange of health information that is designed improve quality, coordination, and efficiency in healthcare. Participants include hospitals, physician offices, mental health centers, pharmacies, and more.
The JCMHC will utilize the CareConnect solution to electronically exchange authorized client information such as medical histories, previous behavioral health diagnoses, substance use history, and medication lists with hospitals and clinics in the state that provide acute and behavioral care and services.
The CareConnect system sends the protected health information in a secure, encrypted, auditable fashion to coordinate care and ensure that providers have a complete patient history throughout the continuum of care.
“This connection provides us with a more comprehensive, holistic view of our clients,” said JCMHC director Tim DeWeese. “Previously, we had to exchange phone calls or faxes with other human services and medical providers to learn about a given client. A lot can be lost in translation.”
The JCMHC provides mental health and substance abuse services to individuals in the community and, according to the organization, serves as “a safety net for individuals with the most severe forms of mental illness, as well as those who are unable to afford or access care elsewhere in the community.”
According to a news release, the connection between Johnson County and KHIN is just the latest step in an initiative announced earlier this year. In July, the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas declared that its behavioral health-centered Health Homes would utilize Netsmart’s CareFabric solution to streamline communication and monitor outcomes. Health Homes are teams of healthcare professionals responsible for coordinating integrated care across multiple providers and are a component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
SOURCE: The Herald