A Graphic of the Top-Performing Mental Health EMR Products
FrontRunners quadrants highlight the top software products for North American small businesses. All products in the quadrant are top performers. Small businesses can use FrontRunners to make more informed decisions about what software is right for them.
To create this quadrant, we evaluated over 140 Mental Health Electronic Medical Record (EMR) products. Those with the top scores for their capability and value made the quadrant.
Scores are based largely on reviews from real software users, along with other product performance details (e.g., what features they offer, how many customers they have).
Nope, Products in Any Quadrant May Fit Your Needs
Every product in this quadrant offers a balance of capability (how much the products can do) and value (whether they’re worth their price/cost) that makes them stand out in the race for small business software success.
FrontRunners has four sub-quadrants:
Depending on the specific needs of a software buyer, a product in any of these sub-quadrants could be a good fit.
Why? To even be considered for this FrontRunners, a product had to meet a minimum user rating score of 2.0 for capability and 2.0 for value. This means that all products that qualify as FrontRunners are top-performing products in their market. They appear in the quadrant in relation to how their peers performed.
For some buyers, a specific FrontRunners sub-quadrant might be best. For example, practices that aren’t planning on using non-essential EMR functionalities, such as voice and handwriting recognition or Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) chart integration, may find a better fit in a product with a lower capability score. On the other hand, practices with greater needs may opt for multi-featured products more likely to be found on the right half of the quadrant.
You can download the full FrontRunners for Mental Health report here. It contains individual scorecards for each product on the Frontrunners quadrant.
Products Are Scored Based on User Reviews and Other Data
You can find the full FrontRunners methodology here, but the gist is that products are scored in two areas, Capability and Value.
To be considered at all, products must have at least 10 reviews and meet minimum user rating scores. They also have to offer a core set of functionality—for example, charting, order entry, decision support and more—and must explicitly support mental health professionals.
From there, user reviews and other product performance details, such as the product's customer base and the features it offers, dictate the Capability and Value scores. Capability is plotted on the x-axis, and Value is plotted on the y-axis.
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Check out the FrontRunners External Usage Guidelines when referencing FrontRunners content. Except in digital media with character limitations, the following disclaimer MUST appear with any/all FrontRunners reference(s) and graphic use:
FrontRunners scores and graphics are derived from individual end-user reviews based on their own experiences, vendor-supplied information and publicly available product information; they do not represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates.
Providers listed as Runners Up were considered for inclusion in the quadrant, but were ultimately not included for one or more reasons: they did not have enough reviews; they did not meet the reviews score minimum; they did not meet the ultimate Value and Capability minimum scores; or they did not meet our functionality requirements for the market.
Electronic medical record (EMR)/electronic health record (EHR) systems for mental and behavioral health providers have unique features and capabilities specifically for counselors, mental health clinics and group practices. We created this guide to help you understand your options and evaluate the best fit for you.
Here's what this guide will cover:
What Is Mental Health Software?
Common Features of Mental Health Software
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Market Trends to Understand
There are a number of features unique to the mental health field that you'll want to look for in a software system. For example, leading systems offer charting templates for evaluation and the digitization of progress notes, automated coding to ensure highest possible E/M codes and medication and prescription management tools. Additionally, software for psychiatrists, psychologists and behavioral centers often have e-prescribing to electronically generate prescriptions and the proper documentation, and a laboratory request interface to track patient lab results.
Software for mental health professionals is also often referred to as "therapy software." Though the terms are often used interchangeably, "mental health software" tends to connote more robust functionality that may be beneficial for large practices or clinics, whereas "therapy software" may include more basic functionality that is sufficient for solo practitioners.
When selecting a mental or behavioral health EMR, providers should consider other features necessary to improve efficiency and care at their agency or facility. For example, some psychiatry electronic medical records allow you to create and store custom, reusable notes in a database for quick retrieval during a patient encounter. Others will need administrative features like a calendar application or patient scheduling system for clinical appointments.
Billing analytics in Kareo software
Here are some of the capabilities to consider:
| Workflow management | Make sure your system facilitates point of care and supports, rather than interferes, with your opportunities for direct patient interaction, thus supporting the way you do business. |
| Advanced note management | Mental and behavioral health specialists may need to access their old notes quickly to review previous sessions. Behavioral health electronic health records software should allow for easy retrieval and viewing of the notes and assessment in multi-axial format. |
| Specialty EMR templates | Specialty psychiatric SOAP notes templates include anxiety, depression, delirium, mania, psychosis, eating disorders, addiction, personality disorders, suicide and more. Providers can use the pre-existing templates or, if desired, customize them even further. |
| GAF charts | Monitor the severity of mental or behavioral factors with a graphical depiction of ongoing progress, rating the social, occupational and psychological functioning of a patient through Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). |
| Specialty ICD-9 billing & coding | Many mental and behavioral health specialists have needs unique to their practice, depending on their area of focus. A strong solution will provide detailed billing support without the clutter of additional codes you don’t need. |
There could be several reasons why a mental health medical practice is seeking EMR software:
Moving from paper to digital records. Many practices are practically buried in paper charts. By moving to a digital system, these offices can reduce clutter and increase accuracy.
Replacing outdated systems. A common complaint from software buyers often refers to the age of a system and it’s inability to perform as quickly or efficiently as newer applications. Other reasons: some older systems are no longer supported by the vendor, and new systems are likely to have updated features to meet federal requirements.
Integrating applications into one system. Double entry into various systems that perform different tasks wastes a lot of time. Practices seek more integration of software, and many modern systems offer combined applications or the ability to connect different systems together.
There are several trends happening in electronic medical records for mental health and psychiatry software. Here are a few you should consider as you select a product and vendor:
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