February 07, 2018
Overland Park, Kan., Feb. 7, 2018 – As part of its integration of behavioral and physical healthcare, LifeWorks Northwest (LifeWorks NW) has adopted the Carequality interoperability framework, powered by the Netsmart network, to enhance data sharing across provider networks. With Carequality, the Oregon-based behavioral healthcare provider has strengthened its ability to securely share critical client information with acute care and community providers that are part of a different network. Now, when a LifeWorks NW client experiences a mental health crisis and receives care in a walk-in or acute care setting, the Carequality framework will provide access to critical clinical data in order to facilitate direct recommendations about next steps for the individual’s care.
Carequality, a public-private initiative between The Sequoia Project and participating healthcare and electronic health record (EHR) partners, is an interoperability framework designed to connect data sharing networks to each other. Netsmart is a founding member and live implementer of Carequality and the only supporting EHR provider solely focused on behavioral healthcare and post-acute and social services communities.
“We are focused on improving client outcomes, with an emphasis on examining and understanding the connections between an individual’s physical and mental health,” said LifeWorks NW Vice President of Operations Katy Beveridge. “Because an individual’s wellbeing and state of overall health are integrally connected, we wanted to find a better way to open communication pathways across the healthcare continuum, so there is transparency in serving a client’s total healthcare needs. We know that using Carequality through the Netsmart network will do that.”
Oregon is one of eight states selected to participate in the two-year federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) project, which emphasizes offering an integrated care model for delivery of mental health and addictions treatment along with attention to and assessment of physical health needs. As one of two participating CCBHC providers in the Portland, Ore., metro area, LifeWorks NW has an increased need for real-time data and actionable analytics, which is at the crux of Carequality’s capabilities.
Carequality gives clinicians and care providers the ability to track, manage and query an individual’s clinical data, which supplies them immediate access to complete medication lists, problems and diagnostic data from all providers on a client’s care team. Consequently, providers gain the ability to make more informed decisions about the correct care settings and treatments for individuals.
“We have a keen understanding that there are deep connections between physical and mental health, which ultimately can impact a person’s quality of life,” said LifeWorks NW CEO Mary Monnat. “That’s why we are always seeking innovations like Carequality powered by Netsmart to help us lead the way and provide the strongest possible care that benefits everyone from our clients and the greater community to our partner healthcare providers.”
Contributing further to its mission of providing seamless transitions into appropriate care settings, data sharing through Carequality expands LifeWorks NW’s partnership with OCHIN to reach all major primary care providers in the Portland metro area. By adding additional connectivity with Netsmart, LifeWorks NW effectively strengthens its communications with provider partners toward enhanced client outcomes.
“Connectivity and the ability to share and exchange vital information between healthcare IT providers is a key and fundamental element of successful care coordination,” said OCHIN CTO Paul Matthews. “It all comes down to delivering the best care for individuals across all areas of healthcare, and we are glad to work in conjunction with other providers to achieve it.”
As partnerships with Carequality and its adopters grow, initial adopters such as LifeWorks NW are well on their way to achieving whole person care by maximizing benefits from the wealth of information it provides.
“We are excited to work together with LifeWorks NW as they embrace Carequality to build stronger bridges in the care continuum,” said Netsmart CEO Mike Valentine. “As founding members of the initiative, we are dedicated to providing all of our clients across behavioral health and post-acute with the right foundation and tools they need to continue to lead the way in delivering integrated and high-quality behavioral healthcare.”
To learn more about this data sharing initiative, stop by and see Netsmart in booth #1917 and Carequality in booth #3374 at #HIMSS18 in Las Vegas, March 5 – 9.