Netsmart, InterSystems Team Up for Better Insights into Behavioral Health Data

Netsmart, an Overland Park, Ks.-based provider that focuses on connecting behavioral health and post-acute care, has selected the InterSystems (Cambridge, Mass.) data platform with the aim to give behavioral health professionals better insights on patient data.

The InterSystems data platform includes embedded analytics, which officials say aims to “unleash knowledge trapped in electronic health records (EHRs).” Meanwhile, the myAvatar CareRecord EHR and practice management solution from Netsmart was created specifically for the behavioral health industry and allows providers to connect with the rest of healthcare.

InterSystems has worked closely with Netsmart and Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD), known for its innovative approach to mental health treatment and high-quality patient care delivery, to develop these new capabilities within the Netsmart solution. Previously, MHCD had developed a set of assessments to measure mental health recovery from both the patient’s and clinician’s perspectives. Patients evaluate their progress regularly in a brief assessment, which physicians then analyze to track progress toward recovery on several key dimensions.

Netsmart solutions aim to enable a clinician-friendly view of the rich and largely untapped potential of clinical notes. Unstructured information, such as psychiatric evaluation and management notes, case management notes, clinical intake narratives, and treatment plans, is difficult to analyze in a traditional EHR view. But using InterSystems technology, which extracts concepts from structured and unstructured data, MHCD was able to capitalize on the data housed in its Netsmart system to give physicians the ability to bring the client story back into the data while still being able to work within their familiar clinical workflow, according to officials.

Now, MHCD can perform comprehensive analytics on all patient data without adding complexity to its IT infrastructure. This enables physicians to more easily evaluate patient progress and collectively determine next steps in treatment, helping improve the overall quality and delivery of patient care and speed time to recovery.

“We launched Netsmart’s solution at MHCD 16 months ago, replacing an EHR system we had used for 12 years,” Wes Williams, Ph.D., vice president and CIO at MHCD, said in a statement. “We outgrew the capabilities of our previous EHR, and we were constantly customizing and tweaking it to meet our requirements. With patient safety a paramount concern every day, we needed a new, stable platform that could help ensure that no information slips through the cracks, regardless of where data is captured, to provide us with a comprehensive view of a person’s health records so we can provide the best care possible.”

“The ability to have access to all of the information contained in an EHR is invaluable to our providers because healthcare doesn’t just happen in a clinical setting,” added Tom Herzog, COO at Netsmart. “Our clients’ and partners’ willingness and ability to develop these capabilities with us furthers our mission to integrate care across all communities, and we’re excited to continue to innovate with them.”