HIPAA News

New Software Tool Offers Relief for Mental Health Providers with Smaller Budgets

(Aprl 29, 2008)-- CTIS browser-based electronic clinical records software for the Mental/Behavioral Health (MBH) community, will be offered for the first time beginning May 15, 2008. The cost will be under $6,000 for up to 10 users. Faced with historical limits on private insurance reimbursements and Medicare paying 28% less than two years ago, many MBH organizations need an inexpensive way to improve HIPAA compliance and operating efficiency, without spending $80,000 or more on typical MBH software. CTIS software was developed over a period of three years, with the experience gained from working with three MBH organizations in Houston, including The Menninger Clinic.

A mental health therapist can spend up to 50% of their day on paperwork. This reduces the amount and quality of time spent with patients and increases costs. Documentation errors and inconsistencies can delay insurance reimbursments. CTIS (Convergent Therapy Information System) software presents users with electronic versions of familiar paper forms. Redundant data is automatically shared among forms and data entry employs drop-down lists and checkboxes wherever possible to speed entry, standardize values, and reduce errors. Patient diagnoses (DSM-IV codes) and common medications can be referenced from included databases.

Two critical and time consuming functions, the Master Treatment Plan (MTP) and Group Therapy Notes, have been given special attention by CTIS software designers, because they offered the most potential for time savings to therapists. The MTP makes extensive use of drop-down lists, standardized problems and short/long-term goals, and provides direct linkage to Group Notes. The Group Notes function allows the therapist to simultaneously load sheets for all patients who attended a therapy group and automatically copies at-large information to all patient sheets, eliminating redundant typing.

The software has modules for handling common treatment programs, including In-Patient, Out-Patient, and Partial Hospitalization (PHP). An Intensive Out-Patient (IOP) module is being discussed. The system allows administrators to customize user access to forms and patients. Time-sensitive forms are tracked and alert messages notify users and administrators of delinquencies and non-compliance. Standardized clinical and administrative reports are available on demand.

JoAnne Mandel, President of InnerWisdom, Inc. in Houston recently stated "CTIS is the first program that was developed for the small psychiatric, outpatient provider. It is easy to navigate and leaves little room for error when documenting all that is necessary during a patient's treatment program. Additionally, it is an affordable product, especially for the smaller provider". Therapists and clinicians surveyed favor CTIS over paper forms and report substantial time savings.

Eulogix is currently offering an aggressive marketing program with financial incentives to Mental Health provider organizations and advocacy groups who are willing to make members aware of the low-cost software. Eulgix believes CTIS represents a milestone toward helping smaller MBH providers compete in an increasingly difficult environment while also assisting with HIPAA mandates.

For additional information on the products that is the subject of this release, contact Paul Graff or visit www.behavioralehr.com. Mention of The Menninger Clinic in the article does not imply affiliation or constitute an endorsement of CTIS by Menninger Clinic.

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