Assessing the information management requirements for behavioral health providers.
Behavioral health agencies will soon implement automated information-management systems to support their administrative, financial, and clinical care functions. Assessing current information-management capabilities and delineating future needs are prerequisite to recommending a specific information technology solution. Quantifying the discrepancy between current information-management capabilities and future requirements highlights the areas of greatest unmet need for information management. Selecting an information system that addresses the most critical areas of unmet need is a prudent purchase decision. This article describes the results of a process to assess the information-management requirements for agencies that were considering implementation of an integrated behavioral health information-management system. The assessment revealed that these agencies already employed automated systems to manage most financial functions and many administrative functions. Few agencies, however, utilized automated systems to manage clinical care functions. Selection of a behavioral health electronic medical record (EMR) effectively addressed clinical care information-management needs without duplicating existing financial and administrative management functions. Also, the EMR included features that addressed some administrative functions for which a discrepancy between current capabilities and future needs was found. Selecting an EMR instead of an integrated behavioral health information system was associated with a significant reduction in information system acquisition costs.
Major
Leslie F
LF
State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, Clinical Campus at Binghamton, New York, USA.
Turner
Michael G
MG
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001524:Behavioral Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005376:Financial Management; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management / Q000379:methods; D007256:Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States