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Minnesota Behavioral Health Providers Form Collaborative to Implement Qualifacts EHR

Rochester, Minn. – The Southern Minnesota Electronic Medical Record Consortium has selected Qualifacts Systems, Inc., to provide an integrated Electronic Health Record (EHR) and billing solution for the group’s four behavioral health provider members:

• Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center, Rochester, Minn.
• Family Service Rochester, Rochester, Minn.
• Goodhue County Mental Health Services, Red Wing, Minn.
• South Central Human Relations Center, Owatonna, Minn.

The search began for an EHR when the state issued a mandate for e-prescribing by 2011 and local county human services commenced restructuring of the mental health delivery system. Each agency knew a flexible EHR system would help them earn financial incentives, achieve compliance and gain clinical and business efficiencies.

“We needed a web-based system that allowed staff to easily access and report information while out in the field,” says Patricia Carlson, executive director for Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center. “And we wanted a secure, common platform to improve the sharing of client data both among our organizations and with other health care providers in our region.”

They opted to join forces to implement an EHR as a collaborative in order to take advantage of the group’s shared resources, according to Carlson.

“A shared electronic health record allows our organizations to integrate administrative and clinical resources, develop greater capacity and bring together care and support systems for children and adults with mental illness and substance abuse disorders across Southeast Minnesota,” says Carlson. “The ability to quickly and seamlessly share information across the region will significantly improve the flow of information and enhance the coordination of care.”

“We are excited to continue our collaborative momentum in the state of Minnesota. By combining purchasing power and best practice sharing among multiple agencies, we are able to significantly reduce upfront investment for our customers and drive even greater efficiencies in our industry-leading implementation processes,” says Jason Medlin, vice president of sales for Qualifacts. “As this project demonstrates, it is truly synergistic when multiple agencies come together in such a meaningful way to enhance clinical outcomes for their clients and improve agency productivity.”