Continuity of Care in Mental Health

by | Dec 14, 2017 | Information Technology and Services

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For the mentally ill, navigating the medical system is difficult, it’s complexity challenging, and many find it too much to bear in managing their own care without help. Keeping the mentally ill in care, on the radar, and getting them to the clinic requires a singular purpose. This is why a practice’s choice of behavioral health EHR software is tremendously important. Simply put, the electronic health record needs to be available to clinicians and mental health workers on the front lines to ensure that there are no gaps or shortfalls in care to this exceedingly vulnerable population.

Medication Management

In mental health treatment, drugs are deployed as a part of treatment regimens and can have side effects. Additionally, medical conditions need to be managed and coordinated. Progress in therapy sessions needs to be noted and potential drug reactions should be monitored aggressively, as well. Certain psychotherapeutic drugs can have interactions with drugs used to treat other conditions, and can even alter the effectiveness of anesthetics used during surgery.

Health care needs to take the whole patient into account, especially when conditions need to be managed for the long term. Diabetes, high blood pressure, epilepsy, heart disease, Hepatitis C and other conditions are even more challenging when the patient’s mental health is compromised.

Addiction Issues

When previously undiagnosed patients with mental illness have essentially self-medicated with addictive drugs of pharmaceutical or street origin, it’s also important to monitor recovery. When a practice lacks an EHR solution, patients may fall through the cracks in devastating ways. Defend your patients with a complete mental health record, and help them guard their health, ease communications issues with clinicians, and keep them on track. Your practice could focus on delivering better and more accurate patient-centered care when you and your patient’s physicians have the big picture.