Benefits Of Electronic Health Records In Behavioral Health Settings

Electronic health records (EHR) have helped to improve healthcare by streamlining the collection and management of patients’ history. However, despite the incredible benefits of adopting electronic records, behavioral health facilities have not embraced these systems.

So what could be the reason behind the slow adoption of electronic health records in behavioral healthcare settings?

The healthcare industry seems to prioritize physical health over behavioral health. However, since both seek to improve the health and well-being of a person, the electronic health record should be part of behavioral care.

Some behavioral health experts probably overlook the need for electronic records because they don’t know what they are missing out on by sticking with traditional healthcare records. This article will highlight the benefits of electronic health records in behavioral health settings.

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Continuity Of Healthcare Services

Medical health and mental health professionals rarely share records in modern healthcare settings. Although mental health specialists might need the medical history, sharing these records would be hard without behavioral health electronic health records.

This is because the patients cannot carry physical files from their local medical clinic to a mental hospital.

Therefore, mental and medical specialists usually make uninformed treatment decisions, which may not address holistic health needs. For instance, if a patient should not take pain medication that could trigger substance use disorders, a medical professional may innocently prescribe such medication.

These mistakes happen when the physical records are unavailable or soiled.

Behavioral patients with mental health challenges such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression may use herbs or supplements, which may interfere with medical or mental health treatments. However, electronic systems can help capture and store this information.

Improve Operational Efficiency

The demand for mental health services is always increasing as more people address the stigma that prevents some patients from seeking help. Therefore, behavioral experts have an increased workload and limited time to keep physical records.

However, they can use electronic health records systems to store large files and streamline workflow. They can also access the data they need conveniently without leaving their desk. Additionally, they can digitize treatment and keep track of invoices and patients in a few clicks of a button.

Increase Data Security

Physical files may be lost, misplaced, or altered easily. However, even if unauthorized individuals access the computers in the mental or health facility, they cannot find sensitive information secured with passwords or biometric systems.

Besides, the facility owner can decide who can edit the information, increasing data integrity. Other security features include data encryption and secure cloud backup. Restricting access privileges to authorized individuals could also improve data protection.

No Need To Recount Patient History

Medical health professionals cannot understand the behavioral aspects by testing blood samples or looking at X-rays. Without electronic health records, medical doctors must ask the patient questions about their behavioral health to understand the patient better.

However, patients may not remember crucial details. They might also waste too much time filling out forms or answering questions about behavioral health history. Additionally, doctors may overlook underlying mental health problems such as depression, which could cause the patient to have a reduced appetite.

Reduced appetite could lead to malnutrition and low immunity.

Digitizing behavioral health could be a game changer in medical and mental healthcare settings. Therefore, health facilities should adopt collaborative electronic health records to improve efficiency and treatment outcomes.

However, it is crucial to choose an electronic healthcare record system with the right features and work with a reliable vendor.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

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