Patagonia Health’s Behavioral Health Electronic Health Record (EHR) software is designed specifically to meet the needs of community health centers providing substance abuse disorder and mental health services. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has recently made funding available for community health centers with the 2018 Expanding Access to Quality SUD-MH Services Funding opportunity. Dollars awarded by HRSA can be applied toward infrastructure improvements, including purchase of an ONC-certified Behavioral Health EHR.

Community health centers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), receiving funding will be required to expand quality integrated substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment services to improve their ability to meet the health needs of the population they serve. In addition to expanding integrated SUD prevention and treatment services, a portion of the services must address opioid use disorder, as well. These expanded services will benefit from the support of EHR technology designed for behavioral health.

Our Behavioral Health EHR Supports SUD-MH Services with:

• Integration with existing EHR systems, such as Athena, or the ability to function as a standalone EHR
• Authorization tracking with real time updates
• Patient Centered Assessments and Treatment Plans
• Extensive Library of Screening/Assessment/Counseling Tools
• Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances (EPCS)
• Interoperability between state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP)
• Patient Engagement and Education with Actionable Reports
• Compliance to Regulatory Requirements
• Behavioral health-specific billing functionality

“Patagonia Health’s Behavioral Health EHR is designed to be flexible. Whether an FQHC has an existing EHR and needs to supplement it with behavioral health-specific functionality or if the center needs a standalone system, our EHR can support their needs,” says Ashok Mathur, Co-Founder and CEO, Patagonia Health, “Our comprehensive system enables providers to have a clear picture of their patients, resulting in improved whole patient care and improved operational efficiencies.”

For more information about how Patagonia Health’s Behavioral Health EHR meets HRSA funding requirements and supports SUD-MH services, visit https://patagoniahealth.com/implementing-hrsa-sud-mh-funding/.

About HRSA’s 2018 Expanding Access to Quality SUD-MH Services Funding
The fiscal year (FY) 2018 Expanding Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services (SUD-MH) supplemental funding opportunity provides support to HRSA-funded health centers to implement and advance evidence-based strategies to expand access to integrated substance use disorder and mental health services.

Approximately $350 million is available in FY 2018, with awards anticipated in September 2018. On June 15, 2018, HRSA emailed eligible health centers the maximum amount of funding they may request. The SUD-MH Instructions offers additional funding details and guidance, including a list of evidence-based strategies. More information can be found on the HRSA website at https://bphc.hrsa.gov/programopportunities/fundingopportunities/sud-mh/.