Many mental health and behavioral health offices are facing significant problems today: your services are becoming increasingly important for clients’ and patients’ general well-being, yet the complexity of running a business is making it difficult to grow in a sustainable fashion. Practice automation is one area where many providers see opportunity. To get started, we’ll guide you through a few important steps.
When it comes to software selection, it’s important to cut through the clutter.
A wide range of software options for mental health and behavioral health practices are available from a number of suppliers. For many providers and office managers, the challenge is sifting through all of the flashy sales pitches and “noise” to find the software capabilities that would actually make a difference.
It’s comparable to buying a car: you could be caught up in a sales pitch about how fast this vehicle can drive, what sort of interior textiles you want, and if the car has a navigation system when you get at the showroom. All of these factors are important and may influence your selection, but if you leave with a two-seater sports vehicle instead of an SUV for your family of five, all of the bling won’t compensate for the lack of practical amenities you require.
It might be difficult to cut through the clutter, but by concentrating on four important areas during your search, you can rapidly limit it down.
The Four Key Elements
These are the essential factors to focus on in your practice automation software search, with the risk of seeming simplistic.
Complete – search for software that has all of the tools you’ll need now, as well as the ability to expand and modify your practise in the future. Frequently, procedures concentrate on fixing today’s problem using software that just solves that one issue. Later, they discover it won’t exchange data or operate properly with other systems, so they go from system to system or build patches and workarounds for new software.
Unified – in any practise, but especially in mental health, data transfer and exchange is important. It ensures a smooth continuum of care and lowers the risk of data mistakes, which can have a negative influence on treatment and results. It can also automate operations that your team now does by hand, freeing up staff time for other important activities.
Smart – smart systems collect, aggregate, track, and report on vital data automatically, eliminating time-consuming human activities.
Cloud-based – allows you and your team to access the system and information from anywhere on any device, while also ensuring that data is protected with the greatest degree of security and encryption. Look for “native” cloud-based software rather than server-based software that has been updated for cloud distribution.
Download our eBook Behavioral Health Practice Automation: 4 Essentials for Success to learn more about all four of these components and how to assess your software alternatives to select the one that best suits your needs based on these criteria. Please let us know what you think and what questions we can address to assist you in growing your behavioral health practice.
