5 Ways to Effectively Use Data in Your Behavioral Healthcare Practice

Behavioral healthcare practices have a tremendous amount of data at their fingertips. In 2017, data officially surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable resource, and the healthcare industry is one of the largest generators of data.

In 2018, approximately 30% of the world’s data volume was being generated by the healthcare industry, and that number is predicted to be over 36% by 2025, growing faster than manufacturing, financial services, and media and entertainment.

Therefore, when we discuss the potential of data for behavioral healthcare, the issue has never been the collection or availability of data, nor is it a technology issue. We have the data, and we have the technology to process it. What clinics often do not have is the time to proactively analyze, understand and utilize the data.  

However, as the digital revolution charges forward, the industry will be forced to keep pace. There are many ways that clinics can effectively use data in behavioral health to improve their practice and the lives of their patients.

1. Improve treatment using social determinants of health (SDOH).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SDOH are the conditions in the environment where people are born, and where they live, learn, work and play that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life risks and outcomes. SDOH was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 but the concept only recently started becoming a common discussion point among practitioners.

The idea of the SDOH is to look at environmental factors to determine how well a patient will respond to specific treatments. A patient’s background details are coded using available data and then the SDOH allows physicians to best design an effective treatment plan. The problem with the SDOH as it stands now, is that it is often looked at as a form to fill out and a box to tick. In fact, an estimated 80% of SDOH data is stored in an unstructured format. By organizing and analyzing SDOH data, clinics have a powerful tool to improve patient outcomes and make more informed care decisions.

2. Increase patient access to personal information.

Patients need access to their personal medical records i.e., appointment or prescription history, if for no other reason than to have access to their health information. However, many patients are asked for this information by other providers and practitioners.

It is important for clinics to have patient data easily available via patient portal or downloadable option. When a patient requires a full visit history for insurance, for example, this information can be pulled automatically and should not require a manual time investment. Establishing this process can be a heavy lift upfront but will ultimately save your practice significant administrative time in the long-term.

3. Automate common systems and processes.

Within your electronic health record (EHR) sits all the information about forms that need to be filled out and tasks that need to be completed. For example, if a psychiatrist changes a diagnosis and revises a patient’s medication, this information is recorded in the EHR but then relies on someone to remember to inform the primary care physician (PCP) and then update additional records surrounding the changes.

One way that behavioral healthcare practices can use data while decreasing administrative burden and improving patient care is by using smart technology to identify tasks and next steps. We have all the data available to create alerts and reminders that can significantly improve clinical workflows.

4. Improve revenue cycle management (RCM).

There often is a divide between the claims department and the clinical side in RCM, which means someone must sit in the middle and manage the process. The feedback tends to be one-sided, and the ideas of what could improve the overall process and what they are seeing doesn’t reach the right people. The data is there, but the claims staff are not typically part of the discussion.

Clinics can improve their practices by automating RCM data and making sure feedback from both sides is being heard.

5. Utilize data to predict and guide behavioral healthcare treatments.

In the healthcare industry, we are quite a long way away from any type of data-sharing model because it requires the healthcare industry to first learn to effectively use and understand their own data. However, my ultimate goal for behavioral care is to share deidentified data that could better predict patient outcomes and help research and development teams to develop the most effective drugs and treatments.

For example, in the automotive industry, most newer cars are now gathering data that is anonymized and used to improve driving experience, road conditions, and driver safety. The healthcare industry could adopt a similar model to improve treatment for mental health conditions across the world.

Clinics need to start viewing data potential as a long-term benefit to patient care. Effective use of data is the key to unlocking better treatments, more effective workflows, and ultimately less administrative burden.

Khalid Al-Maskari is CEO of Health Information Management Systems.