A NEW (NEXT) EHR? IN THE MARKET FOR. Five values to keep in mind as you navigate your health care IT journey. By Netsmart contributing experts:

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1 IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW (NEXT) EHR? Five values to keep in mind as you navigate your health care IT journey By Netsmart contributing experts: Paul Duck, Vice President of Business Development Hannah Harel, Accountable Care Strategist February 2015

2 Using an electronic health record (EHR) is the first step to improved health care for your clients. It also allows organizations to provide efficient, coordinated care. Fast-evolving legislation and standards require that health care organizations provide better care for less cost and report on outcomes and meet clinical quality measures. As part of this evolution, providers should calculate the cost of non-implementation (or less than optimal implementation) of an EHR. This assessment is critical in deciding if your organization should be in the market for a new EHR and other supporting care coordination solutions. A quality EHR implementation should have concurrent positive impact on the clinical, operational and financial aspects of your agency. Industry research shows that more than half of all first-time EHR implementations fail. i What s keeping your organization from becoming a statistic? Here are five key values to keep in mind when determining what software solution provider will become your new (next) strategic partner: 11. Person-centered: Technology improves your delivery model and increases consumer engagement, leading to better outcomes. 22. Transparent: Workflow and other processes will be clear and aligned across your organization and when working with other providers. 33. Collaborative: Software allows for easy exchange of health care data between all health care providers, leading to whole-person care. 44. Accountable: Design allows for appropriate oversight and ability to capture, analyze and benchmark data. 55. Value-driven: Solution increases efficiencies, lower costs without compromising care. Page 2

3 1 Person-centered Any health care IT solution should be designed and implemented with the consumer in mind. In this new age of the consumer (the me age ), individuals want to play a role in their own care. As such, increased consumer engagement is emerging as a clear competitive edge in the health care space. A key to this effort will be implementing consumer apps and portals, which provide individuals with unprecedented access to the right health information at the right time. Health care 2.0 solutions should recognize the strengths of consumers and work to connect everyone on the individual s care team, including the consumer. This can only be successful if you find software solution provider whose mission like your mission is to maintain and improve the health status of every person. 2 Transparent One of the real-time challenges for the health care community is finding a balance between applying evidence-based and best practices, and providing person-centered care. This is best accomplished by having access to the right data at the right time, to help drive your organization forward. Today, health care IT can play a role in effective benchmarking by comparing performance, key services or processes with a standard. Benchmarking can be used for evaluating clinical relevance and effectiveness; monitoring and achieving consumer outcomes and satisfaction; and as one component of assessing staff and organizational performance. Being aware of these benchmarks benchmarking against one s own organization and/or against similar organizations can help ensure organizational excellence and sustainability. Once an organization has benchmark indicators that provide a better understanding of where agency performance could improve, having access to the right analytics becomes critical in zeroing in on solutions and enhancements in productivity and operations. Page 3

4 3 Collaborative Creating a coordinated, integrated and comprehensive care process across all providers of care, while maintaining responsibility for the health status of a person, is the formula for effective care coordination. This is especially true when dealing with the estimated 34 million American adults that have co-morbid mental and medical conditions within a given 12-month period. ii While system fragmentation leads to problems in quality and costs of care that are complicated and burdensome, coordinated care can improve clinical outcomes, increase quality and consumer satisfaction while decreasing unnecessary costs. In one coordinated care example, Hennepin Health, a member of Minnesota s Integrated Health Partnerships (IHP), consumer outcomes are being improved. iii Hennepin takes a holistic view of healthcare, focusing on each member s medical, behavioral health and social needs. Services include housing, social services navigators, employment specialists, targeted case management, and specialized clinics with expanded hours to meet the needs of complex consumers. From 2012 to 2013, the rate of emergency department use per 1,000 Hennepin Health members declined by 9.1 percent, while the rate of primary care visits increased by 2.5 percent. 4 Interoperability can only be achieved if you have a software solution partner that is willing to work with you to achieve secure and fluid data exchanges between providers that use your vendor s solutions or those of another vendor. Accountable The U.S. spends more on health care per capita than any other country, iv with 31 percent of the spend going toward the administration required to support the multitude of complex reimbursement models. v Today, the health care community is being asked to reduce the projected growth of health spending, while at the same time enhancing population health. According to recent surveys: Seventy-nine percent of providers report that practice functions more efficiently vi with an EHR. Eighty-two percent report that sending prescriptions electronically (e-prescribing) saves time. vii Based on the size of a health system and the scope of their implementation, the net benefit of implementing a full electronic medical record system would include 15 percent savings from decreased billing errors and a 15 percent savings from improvements in charge capture. viii It s important to choose a software solution that can help your organization manage claims, process payments and systemize revenue from intake to remittance. But it is also critical to choose a solution that can enhance your clinical and operational processes, driving greater accountability and coordinated quality care. Page 4

5 5 Value-driven Today, health care is changing at the speed of thought. As health and human services providers look for new models and means of helping their consumers, it is important to know they have a true partner in their health care IT provider. There are vendors that play a role alongside their clients in Washington, advocating funds for health care innovation, cost stability and system sustainability. There are also vendors that invest in the health care community that supports them, by running or donating to nonprofits, and helping to build awareness about those with medical and/or mental challenges, or those with different abilities. A vendor that understands and believes in your work, will work harder for you. Final Thoughts: Whether you are looking to become a part of an Accountable Care Organization, a Health Home or a Delivery System Reform Incentive Plan Performing Provider System, having the right EHR and supporting software solutions can mean the difference between success and failure. If you are still wavering, answer this series of questions: 1. Have we been able to improve the clinical productivity of our staff? Yes No 2. Have we been able to reach the industry standard billing collection rate of about 90 to 95 percent of net revenues? Yes No 3. Will your solution enable you to participate as part of an Accountable Care Organization, Health Home or Performing Provider System? Yes No 4. Does our EHR provider fully understand our state requirements for care coordination and collaboration, and the unique and strategic needs of behavioral health, social service and medical providers so we can treat the whole person? Yes No 5. Does our EHR provider have the knowledge and resources to support our move toward consumerdirected care and a comprehensive, closed-loop medication management system? Yes No 6. Have we lost out on Meaningful Use (MU) dollars because our EHR is not certified to current standards? Yes No 7. Have we experienced unanticipated ongoing expenses for system customization, report development or consulting? Yes No Depending on your answers, it may be time to explore your options i Renner, Patti. (2009). Why Most EMR Implementations Fail: How to Protect Your Practice and Enjoy Successful Implementation. Streamline MD. ii Druss, B. G., & Reisinger, Walker. (2011). Mental Disorders and Medical Comorbidity. Princeton: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. iii ASTHO. (2014, June 25). Minnesota s Integrated Healthcare Delivery Program. Primary Care and Public Health Collaborative Highlights. Arlington, Virginia, USA: ASTHO. iv OECD. (2013). OECD Health Data: Health expenditure and financing: OECD Health Statistics (database). OECD. Retrieved from v Yong, PL; Saunders, RS; and Olsen, LA. (2010). The Healthcare Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes: Workshop Series Summary. Institute of Medicine (US) Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine. Retrieved from vii HealthIT.gov. (2014, March 20). Benefits of EHRs. Retrieved from HealthIT.gov: viii Wang, Samuel. (2003). A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Electronic Medical. New York: Excerpta Medica Inc. Page 5

6 About Netsmart Netsmart is committed to helping health and human services providers deliver effective, outcomes-based care with Netsmart s CareFabric solution, a tightly woven framework of innovative clinical and business solutions and services that supports integrated, coordinated delivery of health services across the spectrum of care. More than 23,000 client organizations, including 450,000 care providers and more than 40 state systems, use Netsmart solutions to help improve the quality of life for more than 25 million people each day. Netsmart is pleased to support the EveryDay Matters Foundation, which was established for behavioral and public health organizations to learn from each other and share their causes and stories. For more information, visit Learn more about how Netsmart and the CareFabric solution are changing the face of healthcare today. Visit call , follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or visit us on YouTube. CareFabric is a trademark of Netsmart Technologies, Inc. Page 6