Challenge
The ability to interface with the Integrated Behavioral Health Information System (IBHIS) is the first checklist item that provider organizations who use the system look for when selecting an EHR in Los Angeles County. The Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) provides behavioral health services to LA County clients in partnership with contracted Legal Entities (LEs) and Fee-For-Service (FFS) Mental Health Providers, also known as Contracted Providers or Trading Partners (TPs), who directly exchange information with the Integrated Behavioral Health Information System (IBHIS), in a business-to-business (b2b) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) model. Through this, they can streamline care coordination and improve data exchange.
Solution
Hillsides selected the CareLogic EHR, from Qualifacts + Credible, to support its LACDMH — IBHIS integration, based on the reputation of the platform and the company for successful and timely implementations in even the most complex environments, supported by ongoing partnerships with subject matter experts and peer leadership.
“The speed of this implementation is unheard of in LA County,” said Grayson Kelso, Hillsides Director of Data Services. “The CareLogic software cycle moves extremely quickly. When IBHIS was originally released, it took other EHR vendors substantially longer than it took CareLogic to integrate with provider organizations. CareLogic moved faster, and produced a better result than I have seen before. The speed of development and the quality were both extraordinary.”
“Hillsides was an engaged partner in the implementation process, and our teams worked together under COVID-19 pandemic conditions to successfully complete this implementation in an aggressive timeframe,” said Robert Patton, the Qualifacts + Credible Vice President of Implementation Services. “Hillsides made its subject matter experts and its team leaders available to the CareLogic teams in an open and collaborative joint effort, which enabled us to succeed together.”
IBHIS Integration Success, Efficiencies Gained, and Time Saved
Kelso’s long experience in the community mental health and behavioral health sector includes domain expertise in claims and reimbursement, quality assurance, and selecting and configuring EHR solutions. CareLogic’s capabilities for configuring workstreams to gracefully tie into IBHIS and to inform data-driven decisions were top of mind at Hillsides during the selection process, and this year’s GoLive surpassed the high expectations the stakeholders had for the platform.
“We configured our CareLogic workflows with process automation for LA County specific pieces that we had done click by click previously,” Kelso said. “That change alone is saving us time and effort per person, and it is increasing staff satisfaction with their day-to-day work.”
Extra Support for New Agency Staff During the CareLogic Implementation
“Not only were we successful in hitting our implementation timeline, we did it during the pandemic while adding new staff who were able to get up to speed quickly,” Kelso said. “When we called for all hands on deck because we were short staffed, the CareLogic team heard us. It was very significant to our success. We’ve never had that level of support.”
Success in Maximizing Resources to Enhance Care and Expand Services Delivered
To minimize empty spaces on clinic schedules and increase client engagement to drive enhanced outcomes, Hillsides included the CareLogic Appointment Reminders solution in its implementation. “We can see who canceled and we can see what to do about it, and that has been a very big step in supporting clients and our providers,” Kelso said. “If someone cancels, we can reach out promptly and reschedule, which creates a positive feedback loop. That follow-up call can be a unique opportunity for additional care, which can turn into a short appointment. We have customized our workflows to wrap all that into our follow-ups, and it has been a very positive process.”
Billing, Claims, and Reimbursement Success
“CareLogic makes it very visible to clinicians and billing people how an activity goes from a service delivered to a claim output, while it does so much behind the scenes with mapping and controls to ensure that the claim is correct and will not fail at the payer level,” Kelso said. “It’s designed to prevent errors, so that you can’t fail. There’s no guesswork. That is very powerful.”
Continuous Improvement with Self-Managed EHR Workstream Changes
“Once we were live and we had a chance for our teams to settle in, people started making suggestions for finetuning workflows and processes,” Kelso said. “CareLogic enables us to make those changes ourselves as we examine and refine our processes, whether it’s in clinical documentation or in claims management and cashflow.”
Partnership for Success
“I have implemented many EHRs with many vendors, and the CareLogic team gave us a level of feedback throughout the process and post GoLive that I have never seen before,” Kelso said. “The team gave us diagnostic data on how we are doing on a variety of metrics. It is so refreshing to partner with a company that is watching over our success on the platform.”
Customer Experience Success
“One of the big motivations in our selection process was customer experience, and the references and reputation of CareLogic were deciding factors in our choice,” Kelso said. “What I had seen in the early part of the sales process and experienced through implementation has been an ongoing level of support in handling requests and issues to accomplish tasks and goals that has been beyond what I have previously seen elsewhere.”
“Hillsides had high expectations when they chose CareLogic to take them into the future, and we are proud of the contributions of each our teams in supporting their customer experience,” said Brandi Sanders, Qualifacts + Credible VP for Partner Success. “We are looking forward to their peer leadership in our California State User Group, as they continue to shape CareLogic to change and grow with their expanding programs and services.”
“California is a complex environment for healthcare in general and for behavioral health in particular, and Los Angeles County serves as many people as some states do. As an IBHIS certified EHR, CareLogic can support Hillsides and other providers in the county to achieve the interoperability that is required,” said Eric Arnson, Chief Product Officer for Qualifacts + Credible. “CareLogic automates many of the processes required to consistently document information related to assessments, diagnoses, treatment plans and claims, to enhance productivity, to expand services, and to yield better outcomes.”
About Hillsides
We are a premier provider dedicated to healing children and young adults, strengthening families, and transforming communities through quality comprehensive services and advocacy. We envision a world in which children and young adults, families, and communities are able to heal, grow, and thrive.
Founded in 1913, the founder, Evelyn Wile, envisioned a space for neglected and abandoned children where they could enjoy a country-like environment with plenty of sunshine, fresh air, and open space.
Hillsides has served more than 110,000 individuals, and they collaborate with more than 140 community organizations, including 20 school districts.
About CareLogic
The CareLogic electronic health record (EHR) system is an ONC-certified, web-based platform designed specifically for behavioral (mental) health and human services organizations. Our highly configurable EHR software empowers providers with a robust suite of clinical, administrative and financial capabilities, including: clinical documentation and treatment planning, intake, scheduling, ePrescribing, consumer engagement, billing, outcomes metrics analytics and reporting, and more.
