Community Action Against Addiction (CAAA) chose SMART to streamline their OTP operations. This nonprofit operates OTP, residential, and outpatient services with a caring and supportive staff. “From the CEO through to the security team, this staff cared about their clients,” shared SMART’s Lead Training Specialist Cassity Asher. “Their number one focus was meeting the need of the client and how SMART would help them reach that objective.” Likewise, helping providers focus on patient care is a priority for SMART. After all, SMART was specifically designed to improve efficiencies at their own network of addiction treatment facilities. Today this mission continues with partners like CAAA.
Time-saving systems improve patient care
Charlene (L) and Lera (R), CAAA Billing department
Being totally paperless is essential to maximizing productivity. It saves time and resources by eliminating redundant data entry and storing all data electronically. This helps treatment teams organize, locate, and access patient data more efficiently.
The clinical and medical modules in SMART’s paperless EHR improve team collaboration and patient care. Real-time treatment data means no more wasted time sorting through paper charts. Everyone has real-time access to the most current patient data which improves patient safety and reduces risk to the clinic.
Further improving patient care, SMART’s medication inventory management helps staff decrease dosing errors with “checks and balances” to ensure inventory accuracy. And SMART supports medication dispensing, patient check-in queue, dose verification, along with all DEA reporting. Customizable templates make gathering and saving important information a smooth and reliable process. Each staff member can clearly see what information is required.
And the Insurance Billing Module simplifies billing and self-pay account management by minimizing data entry. It also includes reporting capabilities to track and manage finances. During implementation, SMART provides system training including a thorough review of this module. CAAA’s Billing Specialist, Charlene shared that “The billing trainer was extremely knowledgeable in training the billing department.”
Having Health Paperless Records vs. 100% Paperless Health Records. What’s the Difference?
The difference between being paperless and having 100% paperless health records can be game-changing. Being 100% paperless means there are ZERO physical patient charts or paper forms. You process every document in your clinic electronically. However, if your staff documents everything on paper and then scans it into the patient chart, you may be considered “paperless,” but not 100% paperless. Also important to note, scanning hand-written patient information means it’s not searchable and deriving metrics would be a tedious, manual process. The data is “invisible” to a computer if it’s hand-written. Whether you are partially paperless or are considering going paperless, it’s important to understand how to get the most out of your record keeping-system.
What issues are most common amongst clinics that aren’t fully-paperless?
Time and time again, we’ve seen EHR users taking actions (or not taking actions) that hold them back from being truly 100% paperless. The need to continuously file paper patient charts may not seem like a big deal if it’s what you’ve always done but; think about the alternative.
Organizational efficiency
In a 100% paperless environment, everyone at the clinic has access to the same up-to-the-minute patient information at the same time. If there is a development with a patient, which is not noted immediately and electronically, there could be crucial treatment-related information missed by another clinician.
Quality control
When a 100% paperless clinic switches to a new form, it is automatically utilized across all patient files. In a partially paperless environment, different staff members might be using different versions of the same form.
Managing quality of services can be challenging regardless of how you keep your records. However, this process can improve by doing it all electronically. For example, SMART’s EHR can be set to schedule all regulatory services as soon as the Admit and Discharge buttons are clicked. This feature enables clinical and medical staff to run their Service Due Reports. Management teams also can run quality control reports to ensure patients are receiving the right services.
Auditing paperless health records are also simplified when everything is easy to navigate and available electronically. Since everything is accessible remotely, quality control teams don’t need to travel to the clinic. Moreover, the QC reports in SMART’s EHR make it easy to located and focus on problem areas.
Data collection standards
Creating service type templates can significantly improve data collection. You can build-in the questions you would like your treatment teams to document for each service delivered. Additionally, statistical and patient population data collection is easily usable. These templates make completing grants as well as state and internal reporting much more efficient. No more sorting through and keeping Excel documents up-to-date.
What is holding you back from having 100% paperless health records?
Access and outage concerns
Often there is a fear of not being able to access electronic patient charts when the power is out, or a system is down. Fortunately, you can protect against this and run at optimal efficiency by implementing safeguards, like the ones mentioned below.
Important considerations with paperless health records:
Establish more than one internet network connection. Configure a redundant Internet connection to ensure that there is one connection to the internet at all times.
Have a back-up generator. In nearly all scenarios, your operations will cease in a power outage. For this reason, you should secure a generator for the most critical aspects of your clinic and, especially, with paperless health records operations.
Hardware inevitably fails, seemingly at the worst possible times.SMART’s Cloud-Based EHR, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), takes your hardware concerns off the table. SMART operates a fully-redundant AWS cloud environment which leverages layer upon layer of redundant technology. With these measures in place, the odds and impact of a connection failure are minimal.
Prepare for disasters with automatic backups. As a 100% paperless chart, SMART’s EHR software secures all data in the cloud. Backups run every 30 seconds reducing the risk of data loss. Having owned and operated clinics in the past, SMART is intimately familiar with what can happen if a clinic experiences a fire or other disaster. Being paperless, with automatic backups means we avoided losing access to crucial information.
Equipment investment
Another deterrent to migrating 100% to paperless health records might be the expense of servers, PCs, signature pads, label printers, pumps, etc. making it is easy to put off the transition. However, the drawbacks of not being 100% paperless far outweigh the costs of transitioning. With SMART’s cloud-based solution, your EHR becomes an operational expenditure instead of a capital expenditure. Monthly billing allows you to subscribe only the number of users you need and we can adjust as your needs change.
“SMART integrates every facet of our clinic from dispensing, to counseling, to administration.”
Paul J., Administrator (former), Addiction Treatment Center of New England
Fear of change
Overcoming staff opposition to change can be a challenge. The first step is shifting your focus to educating staff about the benefits and added productivity of a paperless environment. Leadership can ease the transition by promoting positivity and cultivating user perceptions.
Even so, adjusting to a new system can still be challenging; especially for those accustomed to paper as their primary means of record-keeping. SMART helps to mitigate these fears with our implementation process which is designed to get teams up and running quickly and with confidence. Once you commit to implementing an EHR, it is essential to work with your vendor to ensure that your staff is informed throughout the process helping to avoid resistance and confusion.
Successfully implementing paperless health records
Goals and communication
Successful implementations rely heavily upon continuous and clear communications between the EHR vendor and EHR users. Before the implementation begins, set a solid foundation by providing a clear understanding of the process. Every member of both teams should fully understand all requirements and who owns what responsibilities.
Having a complete procedures checklist goes a long way toward keeping everyone on track with what tasks are due and what is upcoming. Part of the checklist procedure is to identify forms, templates, and systems settings.
“They made us feel completely confident in the system in a week. They are all exceptional.”
Heather, Clinical Director, Acadia Healthcare
Training and support
Another critical step is customizing comprehensive training before and after go-live. For our partners, training is delivered both on-site and remotely by our team of training experts. After implementation and training are complete, our Partner Support and Partner Success Teams take charge of the clinic’s ongoing care.
“I really like the new SMART System. It makes our job that much easier. The trainers were all friendly and helpful. They made our transition to SMART very easy.”
Polaris Renewal Services, Inc. completed their transition to the paperless EHR vendor, SMART Management, Inc. Located in Perryopolis, PA, this private SAMHSA-Certified clinic serves the community with counseling and recovery services. Their expert staff treats nearly 400 patients daily, with a focus on substance abuse treatment with methadone maintenance.
Nurse Manager, Nikki with SMART Trainer Amy
Polaris chose the SMART Solution for its 100% paperless operations. SMART Trainer Sandy said “They were really happy to finally go paperless. Everyone was excited to find out how much time they would actually save.” More than just paperless, SMART’s complete clinic management system increases efficiencies through automation. It automates required services, patient check-in, medication dispensing, and nursing notifications. Furthermore, as a cloud-based tool, this EHR provides access to patient treatment data with ease and security. Medical, clinical, and insurance records carefully designed and encrypted for HIPAA compliance secure patient information.
Polaris team during SMART’s EHR Implementation
Program Director, Valerie commented after their implementation, “The trainers were amazing! They exceeded our expectations. The trainers were professional, extremely knowledgeable, and patient. They addressed every question that we had and explained the training material thoroughly. They made this process such an enjoyable experience and alleviated all concerns of the staff. We can’t say enough good things about the training team.”
An EHR Vendor for OTPs
Some EHR Vendors are able to handle the unique workflow of OTPs but few are built specifically for that purpose. SMART’s EHR streamlines operations in opioid treatment programs with modules designed for opioid treatment workflows.
Twenty-five years ago, President and CEO David Piccoli, II designed The SMART Solution to improve operational efficiency and increase ROI at his family-owned network of substance use treatment facilities. This EHR continues to evolve as a result of SMART’s extensive clinical experience and tremendous breadth of industry expertise. It is this history and experience in delivering opioid treatment services while utilizing their own time-tested solution that makes this customizable EHR such a great choice. Learn more
Anchorage Comprehensive Treatment Center upgraded their digital health records. They chose SMART’s EHR for paperless operations and billing efficiency. This digital health records software improves the workflow of opioid treatment programs through automation. Acadia’s doctors, counselors, and nurses provide treatment to individuals affected by addiction. This includes, morphine, prescription pain medications, and heroin. They treat patients with a combination of therapy and medication-assisted treatment.
How This Digital Health Records Software Streamline OTPs
SMART’s EHR helps streamline processes from the first time a patient calls until discharge. For example, it organizes new patient inquiries. This enables a smooth transition from patient screening, to wait-listing, or referral to another agency. And the assessment tool collects all data elements to meet state and modality requirements.
Additionally, the integrated billing module simplifies third party billing. Such as, insurance eligibility, drug formularies, billing, payment plans, co-payment, and account management. It also maximizes revenue and decreases data entry. By automating key tasks, clinicians, counselors, and doctors are able to spend more time on what matters most; patient care.
About SMART
SMART is proud to partner with Acadia since 2013 and has been the software of choice, since 1992, for clinics now under their management. As their network of treatment facilities grows, SMART’s EHR grows with them. This complete clinic management system has state-specific modules to satisfy local requirements. SMART’s EHR operates in several countries and 28 states and territories. Learn more
SMART’s electronic health record system is now operating at Acadia’s four CARF Accredited treatment centers in Wisconsin. These clinics are a part of their more extensive network that provides medically assisted treatment to individuals suffering from addiction. Medications include treatment with Methadone, Buprenorphine, Suboxone, and Vivitrol. Their expert staff supports medically assisted treatment with well-rounded therapy sessions.
Electronic Health Record System for Organizational Uniformity
Acadia chose SMART’s electronic health record system to support paperless operations, insurance billing, and to create uniformity across their network. For enterprise organizations uniformity is crucial. With SMART’s cloud-based EHR storage of all clinic’s information is in one place. By doing this, the establishment of a corporate model and forms, services, and reporting is made easy. And, data-entry-free billing simplifies insurance, self-pay account management, and reporting functions.
10th Street Team with Trainer Sandy
Streamlining Transitioning – New Electronic Health Record System
Moving to a new EHR can be challenging. Many of our Training Team members have experience working within clinics. They understand the challenges faced every day. Because of this, they are passionate about making a transition as hassle-free as possible. Acadia Clinical Supervisor, Quillan, shared that, “The Trainers were very personable, professional, and knowledgeable. We enjoyed working with them, their experience and mastery of the system were evident, and their ability to present the information in meaningful and understandable terms was remarkable. We especially appreciate their patience and willingness to work with us individually and walk us thru the steps, in some cases repeatedly, until we were comfortable, and their use of humor as a teaching tool and patience made learning a new system much easier. They were very approachable and were able to answer every question asked of them. Amazing team…”
SMART’s Addiction Treatment EHR Software is now operating at Acadia Healthcare’s six Washington State locations. These CARF accredited sites provide outpatient treatment with caring individual and group therapy sessions. Patients can also receive recovery support with methadone and Suboxone medication-assisted treatment.
Acadia chose SMART’s electronic health record for its 100% paperless functionality. This EHR solution is a reliable, secure, and flexible cloud-based paperless software. It improves ease and speed of access to patient records, allowing for increased collaboration amongst treatment team members. Additionally, the billing module helps OTPs maximize revenue by processing insurance billing in-house. It also enables authorization management, self-pay billing and account management, unit-based fee for service, payment due notifications, and reporting to both cash- and accrual-based accounting.
Going paperless in Tacoma
Simplifying Electronic Health Record Implementations
Following the earlier Spokane, WA implementation, Office Manager Tami said, “This was a fantastic training team, great software, and overall very positive experience.” This reaction is precisely what SMART’s Team strives for in every implementation of the SMART Solution. Being in business for over 25 years and having operated a network of treatment facilities, SMART knows the challenges that can occur during implementations. That is why SMART has established a thorough and continuously vetted process to ensure that clinics get up and running quickly and efficiently.
Support for Clinics using Addiction Treatment EHR Software
Genuinely understanding the unique operational needs of opioid treatment programs, from one state to the next, requires dedication. This commitment ensures that SMART stays current with Partner’s requirements. Ultimately, their needs drive development and inspire continuous improvement.
SMART upholds this everchanging understanding by providing:
SMART’s automated medication dispensing system, along with this EHR’s complete clinic management system, is now running at Stockton Medical Group. Their compassionate staff helps individuals struggling with addiction through advocacy, counseling and medication-assisted treatment (MAT). MAT decreases withdrawal symptoms increases individual stability and reduces the risk of relapse. Recovery inspires the ongoing development of SMART’s EHR. With more than 25 years of experience, this EHR intuitively organizes operations at opioid treatment clinics like Stockton.
Dosing with SMART’s Automated Medication Dispensing System
Stockton and SMART associates gather for group photo
Managing many treatment programs within one system can be challenging. Accordingly, Stockton is taking on these issues by integrating SMART’s EHR across their six locations. This EHR manages medication inventory, reduces dosing errors, and protects patient safety. Additionally, the reports in SMART’s Medication Inventory Management module simplify key information. As a result, they can streamline preparation for DEA audits.
Following this EHR implementation, Operations Manager Lianna shared her experience. “I appreciated the friendliness and continued help from the SMART team.” SMART’s implementation team appreciates the importance of a great support system. In fact, many have extensive clinical, operational management, and technical expertise.
About SMART’s EHR
SMART’s Electronic Health Record goes beyond medication dispensing. It is a full clinic management system for opioid treatment programs. This paperless EHR improves productivity by automating other key processes and reports. These include service scheduling, QA reporting, and test results posting. Moreover, the integrated Insurance Billing Module maximizes revenue and decreases data entry. Learn more about SMART’s EHR Solutions.
Cumberland Comprehensive Treatment Center Team during EHR implementation
Fall 2017 marks the beginning of Acadia Healthcare’s switch to a new digital health record software in Maryland. They chose the SMART Solution to improve EHR functionality and billing efficiency at their three Maryland-based OTPs. Acadia’s programs incorporate a variety of treatment techniques into several levels of care. This includes medication-assisted treatment with methadone, Suboxone, Subutex, and Vivitrol.
SMART takes a best-fit approach to implementing their specialized digital health record. Training is an important element of this process. SMART’s team of experts work to deliver the right content at the right time. As a result, their detailed training plan outlining the pre-go-live training and go-live training schedules helping to keep both teams on track. Following the Elkton implementation, Nurse Manager, Patricia C. said “It was wonderful… smooth transition for my Medical Dept. I owe everything to Sandy Silva, our trainer. Sandy was great! Her delivery, knowledge, and personality are outstanding.”
How SMART’s Digital Health Record Improves Efficiency
Elkton Comprehensive Treatment Center team during EHR implementation
The SMART EHR provides automated solutions to address a wide-range of critical business functions. A few examples include, Insurance Billing, Admissions, Clinical & Medical Service Delivery, Incident Report Management, and Quality Control reports. Additionally, opioid treatment programs use SMART’s EHR to communicate real-time treatment data, maintain DEA reporting, and ensure regulatory standards are met.
Claymont and SMART Staff during EHR Implementation
August 2017 – Claymont Comprehensive Treatment Center recently completed their EHR implementation of The SMART Solution. Located in Claymont, DE, this Acadia Healthcare-owned, SAMHSA-Certified clinic, serves the community with addiction counseling and recovery services. Their expert staff treats nearly 400 patients daily, with a focus on substance abuse treatment with methadone maintenance.
Claymont chose the SMART Solution for its paperless operations and medical billing. Moreover, SMART’s EHR provides the tools and features to truly maximize efficiency. This specialized cloud-based EHR helps opioid treatment providers communicate real-time treatment data. It also improves response time on claims, ensures regulatory standards are met and includes comprehensive DEA reporting.
EHR Implementation Made Easier
Industry best practices influence SMART’s EHR implementation approach. During this time, the team’s focus is on getting OTP’s up and running quickly. Implementation begins with an assessment call with the treatment provider’s Project Team and SMART’s Assessment Team. Next, SMART assesses business requirements. Then they perform a review of treatment provider workflows and how the SMART modules align and enhance business practices. Following the assessment is the training phase. At this time, SMART provides a detailed training plan outlining the pre-go-live training and go-live schedule. SMART’s best-fit training approach ensures that treatment teams have the tools they need for a successful implementation.
Following their EHR implementation, Claymont Program Director, Jennie said “I am very pleased with our trainers and the implementation…they have been excellent resources. I wish they could be here longer! Could not have asked for better people to be on-site!”
About SMART
The SMART Solution is a cloud-based EHR designed to improve operational efficiency and increase ROI of substance use treatment facilities. Medication inventory management in SMART’s EHR helps to reduce dosing errors by facilitating checks and balances. This increases patient’s safety and limits the risk to the agency. Learn more
Greene Treatment Center in Carmichaels, PA is now using the SMART’s paperless health records management system. The SMART Solution is designed for use in every aspect of clinical operations. This newly established facility offers comprehensive outpatient treatment services for individuals with substance use disorders. Their treatment processes include counseling in conjunction with short-term and long-term medication-assisted treatment using methadone. Widely recognized, Methadone maintenance and medication-assisted treatment are the most effective treatment modalities for the effective treatment of opioid addiction.
The SMART Solution handles every facet of clinics from admissions to discharge. Greene Treatment Center chose the SMART Solution for its robust and comprehensive billing and clinical modules. Billing in SMART’s EHR helps clinics maximize their revenue with independent management of their revenue cycle with compliant reporting and notifications. Moreover, this EHR secures patient information with medical, clinical, and insurance records designed and encrypted for HIPAA compliance. Pennsylvania State CARF requirements are built into SMART’s EHR reporting, admissions assessments, and biopsychosocial tool. Also created in compliance with regulations is the scheduling of services such as dose evaluations and counseling.
Greene Treatment Center Program Director Jim said, “We are new to this type of business but found the SMART Software comprehensive. Our on-site trainer was well received by staff and highly capable in helping us use the system…Overall we love the SMART system and the people that worked with us.” SMART’s Lead Training Specialist Denise Howard also shared that her favorite part of this EHR implementation was working with their “smart and energetic” staff. She also noted how nice it was to “work in such a welcoming facility every day.”
About the SMART Solution, a Paperless Health Records Management System
The SMART Solution is a 100% paperless electronic health record for opioid treatment in substance abuse and behavioral health facilities. The SMART Solution provides functionality to enable, increased admissions, streamlined-dosing, improved team collaboration, and maximized revenue. Learn more
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Greene Treatment Center