Last Reviewed: November 20th, 2024

Best Mental Health Software Of 2024

What is Mental Health Software?

Mental health software empowers professionals and individuals to navigate mental well-being. It tackles challenges like streamlining paperwork, scheduling appointments, and managing patient records, freeing up time for improved care. Benefits range from enhanced efficiency and communication to data-driven insights, ultimately leading to better quality care and patient outcomes. Key functionalities include electronic health records, teletherapy tools, and self-management resources. Emerging features embrace AI-powered chatbots and personalized mental health assessments. Therapists, counselors, and individuals seeking mental health support benefit most. However, limitations like data privacy concerns and potential misuse by unqualified practitioners require careful consideration. In essence, mental health software offers a valuable avenue to improve access to care, streamline mental health services, and ultimately empower individuals to prioritize their well-being.

What Are The Key Benefits of Mental Health Software?

  • Increased Access to Care
  • Improved Communication & Monitoring
  • Streamlined Administration & Workflow
  • Personalized Self-Management Tools
  • Data-Driven Insights & Decision Making
  • Enhanced Treatment Adherence & Outcomes
  • Reduced Stigma & Increased Awareness
  • Cost-Effectiveness & Resource Optimization
  • Empowerment & Improved Quality of Life
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Our Research Analysts evaluated 99 solutions and determined the following solutions are the best Mental Health Software overall:

Overall

  • 99 Cerner
    Best Overall, Compliance and Security, Dashboards and Reports
  • 97 Tebra EHR
    Best for Dashboards and Reports, Electronic Prescribing
  • 96 CureMD
    Best for Compliance and Security, Mobile Capabilities
  • 96 AdvancedMD EHR
    Best for Compliance and Security, Dashboards and Reports, Electronic Prescribing
  • 93 DrChrono
    Best for Compliance and Security, Integrations and Extensibility, Mobile Capabilities
  • 91 NextGen Enterprise
    Best for Dashboards and Reports
  • 89 Meditab
    Best for Dashboards and Reports, Electronic Prescribing, Mental Health EHR
  • 88 ICANotes
    Best for Compliance and Security
  • 85 Valant
    Best for Mental Health EHR
  • 85 CareLogic
    Best for Electronic Prescribing
Cerner  Award
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Why We Picked Cerner

Navigating the world of healthcare IT solutions can feel like venturing through a labyrinth, with countless options promising efficiency and improved patient care. Cerner, a prominent name in the industry, offers a suite of tools designed to streamline healthcare operations. But how does it truly stack up against the competition, and is it the right fit for your organization? Let's delve into the experiences of users who have implemented Cerner in their practices to uncover its strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases.

Cerner consistently receives praise for its comprehensive suite of features, encompassing electronic health records (EHR), practice management, revenue cycle management, and population health management. This integrated approach allows healthcare providers to manage various aspects of their operations within a single platform, promoting efficiency and data continuity. Users particularly appreciate the robust functionality for clinical documentation, order entry, and decision support, which can enhance patient care and streamline workflows. However, some users find the interface to be complex and require extensive training to navigate effectively. Additionally, the system's customizability, while advantageous for tailoring it to specific needs, can also contribute to its complexity.

Cerner distinguishes itself through its extensive industry experience and large user base. The company has a long-standing presence in the healthcare IT sector, demonstrating its commitment to innovation and adaptation to evolving industry needs. This extensive experience translates into a deep understanding of healthcare workflows and challenges, which is reflected in the design and functionality of Cerner's solutions. The large user base also fosters a sense of community and facilitates knowledge sharing among healthcare organizations using Cerner. However, it's important to note that Cerner's pricing structure can be a significant consideration, particularly for smaller practices. The cost of implementation and ongoing maintenance may require careful evaluation to ensure it aligns with budgetary constraints.

Cerner is best suited for large healthcare organizations with complex workflows and a need for a comprehensive, integrated healthcare IT solution. Its robust feature set, scalability, and industry expertise make it a valuable asset for hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers. Smaller practices may find the system's complexity and cost to be prohibitive, and may prefer more streamlined solutions tailored to their specific needs. Ultimately, the decision of whether Cerner is the right fit depends on an organization's size, budget, and desired level of functionality.

Pros & Cons

  • Data Security: All users who mention safety and data noted data security as an important advantage.
  • Collaborative: The product’s collaborative nature helps support multiple medical facilities, as reported by all users referring to this feature.
  • User-Friendly: About 73% of users referencing usability mentioned that the product is easy to use and navigate.
  • Updates: Updates take a lot of time and don’t happen frequently, according to 93% of users who mention this aspect.
  • Time-Consuming: Repetitive clicking reduces the speed of work, according to about 74% of reviews mentioning this aspect.
  • Customer Support: Strong customer support is often unavailable and can have delayed response times, as noted by 80% of users referencing support.

Key Features

  • Clinical Documentation: Narrative, auto text and voice recognition, and speech-to-text support makes charting and documentation easier and more efficient. Any relevant patient data like medications or diagnosis is automatically included. 
  • Mobile Apps: Providers can review patient charts, request orders and refills, review diagnostics and check clinical results using their mobile. Voice dictation helps physicians with easy documentation. 
  • Built-In Templates: A variety of prebuilt templates limit the amount of time physicians need to spend on documentation. 
  • Health Analytics: Provides insights to help enhance clinical, financial and population health strategies, which help in identifying long-term and daily operational improvement opportunities. 
  • Patient Portal: Patients can exchange messages, request refills, view clinical information and check out evidence-based data on over 3,000 topics to further their education. 
  • Sepsis Surveillance: Developed by Cerner in 2010, the St. John Sepsis Surveillance tool looks for patient data and notifies clinicians of patients who are at risk of sepsis before they are diagnosed. 
  • Revenue Cycle Management: Offers solutions to improve workflow and control costs leading to more revenue. Insurance can be verified automatically while faulty claims can be dealt with before submission. 
  • Cybersecurity: Helps protect sensitive health data against insider threats and cyberattacks by ensuring only necessary staff has access to it. 
  • Scheduling Management: Automates the appointment scheduling process from both centralized and decentralized booking locations within a department or facility. It also:
    •  Manages scheduling across multiple facilities and scheduling a series of appointments. 
    •  Validates medical necessity at several points in the workflow. 
    •  Prevents adverse appointment and procedure interactions. 
    •  Supports moving appointments within a single view. 
  • Patient Kiosk: A self-service solution for patients to check in for and manage appointments. They can view and update demographics and insurance information, as well as complete registration forms. Also supports storing signed forms in patients’ electronic health records. 
  • PowerChart Touch: Enables physicians in either acute or ambulatory settings to access and review their patient’s clinical data and current orders on smartphone or tablet. 
  • Enterprise Master Person Index: Minimizes duplicate records, enabling end-users to find the correct person. 
  • Ambulatory Organizer: Shows a daily patient schedule, the time a patient checked in, the reason for their visit per the intake form, and required documentation. Also indicates outstanding tasks. 
  • Tap-and-Go Authentication: Enables clinicians to use a single username and password to gain access to several key applications on clinical workstations. Scanning a badge automatically logs them in to their virtual desktops to gain rapid, no-click access to medical records as they change locations. 
  • Ambulatory Registration Management: Automates the workflow and process of registration, admittance, transfers and discharges. Offers a Master Person Identifier (MPI) and facilitates collecting co-pay or payments on outstanding balances. 
  • Analytics: Uses data across the integrated health system to examine enterprise and population health content. Identifies, applies and measures analytics-based, strategic initiatives such as cost and utilization, pharmacy spend, and practice management to reduce duplicative efforts. 

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • User-based monthly subscription — per user, per month with an additional cost to own the software
  • Cost will vary depending on the enterprise plan chosen
Maintenance Cost
  • Maintenance cost is included in the subscription fee
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • Additional fee is required for installation
Customization Cost
  • Cost of customization will vary depending on functional requirements added
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Cost may vary based on the amount of data needed to be consolidated
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • Cost is equivalent to the monthly subscription fee
Tebra EHR  Award
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Why We Picked Tebra EHR

With a user interface that’s easy to learn, navigate and get used to, Tebra EHR provides efficiency for clinical facilities. Its cost-effectiveness also sets it apart, according to user feedback. However, it doesn’t support all third-party integrations. Additionally, out-of-date tools and features tend to slow down users. Feedback is balanced regarding billing features and customer support, with some users considering them positives while others view them negatively. Overall, the product can be a good choice for independent medical practitioners.

Pros & Cons

  • User-Friendly: Over 92% of reviews on this aspect mentioned that the product offers an easy-to-use interface.
  • Cost: The product is cost-effective in terms of the features it offers, as reported by 77% of users referring to price.
  • Functionality: Glitches, bugs and a clunky interface impact functionality, according to 88% of reviews mentioning this aspect.
  • Outdated: About 86% of users reported that the product requires more updates for features and integrations.
  • Glitches and Lags: Frequent glitches and lags reduce the speed of working, according to 72% of users referencing these aspects.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive Dashboard: Physicians can check task lists, view the calendar and more at an easily navigable location. 
  • E-Prescribing: Automatically delivers information to pharmacies once a refill has been requested. Allows physicians to save time, check for potential drug-to-drug or drug-to-allergy interactions, and reduce phone calls related to prescriptions. 
  • Patient Portal: Patients can share medical records and view billing information, lab results, medical history, medications and more. Physicians can securely communicate with patients through instant messaging or video chatting. 
  • Electronic Superbills: Create and submit superbills, which are fully filled and accurate, in just a few clicks. 
  • Secure Messaging: Clinicians can exchange information with patients or communicate with other health professionals quickly and securely using the portal. They can also conveniently message their organization’s billing team while maintaining data security. 
  • Flexible Calendar: Manage important patient communications and customize schedules with a comprehensive calendar for both patient appointments and staff scheduling. 
  • Agenda Overview: Provides physicians with complete visibility of their day at a glance, highlighting any items or tasks that require their attention. 
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Why We Picked CureMD

CureMD, a comprehensive software platform designed to streamline healthcare operations, has been making waves in the industry with its robust features and user-friendly interface. Feedback from healthcare professionals highlights several key strengths that set CureMD apart from its competitors.

Users consistently praise CureMD for its exceptional ease of use, intuitive design, and comprehensive suite of features that cater to various healthcare specialties. The platform's ability to seamlessly integrate with other healthcare systems, such as labs, pharmacies, and hospitals, is another major advantage, promoting efficient care coordination and data exchange. CureMD's vaccine management system has also received positive feedback for its ability to automate tasks like patient outreach, inventory management, and reporting, saving valuable time for healthcare providers. While CureMD offers a wide range of features, some users have noted that the platform's extensive functionality can have a steeper learning curve for new users compared to more basic EHR systems.

CureMD appears to be an ideal solution for healthcare organizations of all sizes seeking a comprehensive and customizable platform to optimize their workflows and enhance patient care. Its scalability and adaptability make it suitable for solo practitioners, large hospitals, and multi-specialty clinics alike. The platform's cloud-based nature ensures accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection, providing flexibility and convenience for healthcare professionals on the go.

Pros & Cons

  • Customizable: CureMD offers a high degree of customization, allowing practices to tailor the system to their specific workflow and needs. This includes customizing forms, templates, and reports to match existing processes.
  • Cloud-Based: As a cloud-based solution, CureMD eliminates the need for expensive hardware and IT infrastructure, making it a cost-effective option for practices of all sizes. Additionally, cloud-based EHRs offer greater accessibility and scalability.
  • Integrated Practice Management: CureMD seamlessly integrates with practice management features, such as scheduling, billing, and reporting, streamlining administrative tasks and improving efficiency.
  • Specialty-Specific: CureMD offers specialty-specific versions of its EHR, catering to the unique needs of different medical specialties. This ensures that providers have access to the tools and features relevant to their practice.
  • Steep Learning Curve: The software's interface can be overwhelming for new users due to its complexity and lack of intuitive design, leading to a prolonged onboarding process and potential frustration.
  • Customization Challenges: Tailoring CureMD to specific workflows can be difficult, as the customization options are limited and may require advanced technical knowledge or assistance from the support team.
  • Reporting Limitations: Generating custom reports or extracting specific data from the system can be cumbersome, often requiring manual workarounds or reliance on pre-built templates that may not fully meet individual needs.
  • Customer Support Concerns: Some users have reported challenges with responsiveness and resolution times when seeking assistance from CureMD's customer support, leading to potential delays and disruptions in workflow.

Key Features

  • Enterprise Scheduling: Manage appointments and workflows automatically across locations. Scheduling and matching up physicians with speciality equipment is done using color coding. Includes waiting list management, automatic eligibility verification, family/group schedule, recurring appointments, chain scheduling and SMS/email notifications.
  • Avalon EHR: Add lab orders, diagnosis, vitals and other patient information securely using the Avalon EHR app for iOS. Review, acknowledge, sign and assign lab results using the CPOE system in the iPad EHR.
  • Patient Portal: Patients can view lab results, set up appointments, request prescription refills, make payments online and receive messages from their physicians on their own device.
  • Workflow and Process Editor: Assemble component templates, data forms and a knowledge base to facilitate adaptation to the users' preferences using the configurable workflow and process editor.
  • Auto Note: Compose sentences and paragraphs according to preferences and generate notes automatically through customizable templates.
  • Outcome Analysis: Aggregate clinical outcomes and reports in compliance with national benchmarks and P4P standards.
  • Integrated EKG Management System: Digitize EKG objects and attributes for storage directly in the EHR using this feature, available in Cardiology EHR. Incorporate consolidated patient records with the necessary data in reports.
  • Interoperability: Exchange information with stakeholders and connect to health information exchanges, pharmacies, payers and others for interoperability.
  • Electronic Prescription: Connect prescribers with pharmacies for a drug knowledge base, medication reconciliation, process refill requests or controlled substance e-prescribing. It also provides access to prescription benefits and adverse reactions information, and connects to thousands of pharmacies across the United States.
  • Electronic Labs: Send orders and receive lab results electronically using lab interfacing. Includes trending and task assignment, comparisons of current and past results, and alerts for abnormal results.
  • Document Imaging: Capture, scan and attach paper charts, clinical images, photographs, X-rays, audio files and medical drawings directly within CureMD, or use an integrated PACS system.
  • Revenue Cycle Management: Convert medical services into cash reimbursements through claim preparation, same-day electronic claim submission, follow-up, electronic payment posting and other features.
  • Discrete Reportable Transcription: Populate dictations in pre-designated templates using overnight transcription service for documentation cost reduction and discrete clinical findings.
  • Personalized Dashboards: Easy-to-use dashboards include user-defined KPIs, financial forecasts, tasks and trends.
AdvancedMD EHR  Award
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Why We Picked AdvancedMD EHR

While some users were happy with the systems integration and customization capabilities, far more users were extremely dissatisfied with other aspects of the system. A significant number of reviewers felt that the sales representatives misled customers noting that they lost money after implementing AdvancedMD and commenting that many features lacked the functionality that they required. Though the add-ons allow users to customize the system, many users complained that the add-ons come at a steep price, making them prohibitive to many users. Users also complained that they were surprised by hidden fees after implementation and felt that customer service was rude and unwilling to help when they called for support. A small number of reviews also noted that upgrades to the system frequently caused downtime and reported discrepancies in their billing that affected customers. While many of the reviews were negative, AdvancedMD remains a popular EHR solution. Due to its high price and difficulty to learn, it is best suited to large practices with the budget for necessary add-ons and internal technical support that is available to help ensure everyone who needs to can use the system.

Pros & Cons

  • Customization: Of the reviews that mentioned the system’s customization, more than 65% were happy with the customizations available as add-ons to the system.
  • Integration: Though only mentioned in 10% of reviews, 85% of those reviews felt the system successfully integrated with their other medical software.
  • Streamlined Patient Scheduling: AdvancedMD EHR offers tools to simplify appointment scheduling, including online self-scheduling for patients, automated appointment reminders, and waitlist management. The platform also facilitates efficient scheduling for multiple providers and locations.
  • Comprehensive Medical Billing: The system provides robust medical billing features, such as claims scrubbing to reduce errors and denials, electronic remittance advice, and integrated payment processing. AdvancedMD EHR also offers tools for managing patient billing, including payment plans and online bill pay.
  • Customizable Templates and Workflows: Users appreciate the ability to tailor the system to their specific needs. AdvancedMD EHR allows for the creation of custom templates for clinical documentation, as well as the ability to design unique workflows to optimize efficiency and meet the requirements of different specialties.
  • Telehealth Capabilities: The platform facilitates virtual care through integrated telehealth features. AdvancedMD EHR enables secure video consultations, allowing healthcare providers to connect with patients remotely and expand access to care.
  • Practice Management Tools: AdvancedMD EHR goes beyond clinical documentation and billing to offer comprehensive practice management tools. These include features for managing patient records, tracking referrals, generating reports, and overseeing financial performance. The system also provides tools for staff management and communication.

Key Features

  • Mobile Focused, Cloud-Based: The product is built for mobile (but is desktop-ready), and delivered by the cloud, meaning you can save on implementation and maintenance costs. 
  • E-Prescribing: Doctors can quickly ship medication prescriptions across practices and pharmacies. This feature is also HIPAA, MACRA and MIPS compliant. 
  • Patient Portal: An advanced patient portal will allow patients to log in and manage their medical and health records from any device. 
  • Regulation Compliant: Compliant with HIPAA, MACRA and MIPS, the application will ensure your practice meets stringent compliance standards. 
  • Handwriting Recognition: Doctor handwriting can often be garbled or hard to understand. This software can read and translate some of the most difficult handwriting into text — especially useful for prescribing information. 
  • Physician Dashboard: A robust dashboard geared towards physicians makes it easy for prescribing doctors to pull up patient treatment history and medical information. 
  • Secure Document Exchange: This feature keeps patient information both secure and easily transferable. This can include patient health data, prescriptions and more. 
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Why We Picked DrChrono

So, I got the chance to get a free trial access to DrChrono, and here are the key highlights:

  • The platform stands out for its intuitive design, extensive features and customization capabilities.
  • The software is accessible on any device with internet connectivity.
  • Data import from other EHR systems is supported but with certain limitations.
  • It offers four pricing plans and a free trial is available for potential users.

It's a cloud-based system, which means you can access it from anywhere — your laptop, tablet, even your phone! And it covers everything from electronic health records and patient scheduling to billing and telehealth.

One of the things that really impressed us was how customizable it was. You can create your own templates for notes, forms and even entire workflows. This means you can really tailor it to fit your specific needs and preferences, which can save a ton of time.

And speaking of saving time, they've put a lot of thought into their billing features. They have tools to help you code things correctly, submit claims electronically and even track your payments. Anything that helps you get paid faster and with less hassle is a win, right?

However, learning to navigate the billing and insurance modules could take time. It’s a bit confusing to understand how the billing workflow works and how to set one up. Also, you can’t import billing data from your old EHR system.

If you're looking for a comprehensive, user-friendly system that can be customized to your practice, we'd definitely recommend taking a closer look.

They offer four different pricing plans, so you can find one that fits your budget, and they have a free trial so you can test it out and see if it's a good fit for you. It's always good to try before you buy, right?

We’ve discussed more about the features in the See It in Action section. Do check it out to know how the system works in different scenarios.

Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: Navigate patient charts, create shortcuts and access billing info without a steep learning curve.
  • Customization: Tailor the system to your specific needs and preferences like customizing templates, workflows and reports.
  • Easy Medical Coding: Find and assign ICD, CPT and HCPCS codes to patients' bills to save time and reduce coding errors.
  • Contractual Obligations: Canceling subscriptions can be challenging, potentially leading to early termination fees. Automatic renewals may also catch you off guard.
  • Subpar Customer Support: Long wait times, unhelpful responses and unresolved issues from customer representatives might disrupt your processes.
  • Occasional Glitches: System crashes, slow navigation and difficulties with scheduling and other functionalities can cause frustration.

Key Features

  • EHR: Provide better care with features like free draw for visual explanations, custom vitals tracking and access to immunization registries
    • Custom Templates: Tailor forms with specific fields, drop-down menus, checkboxes and even add your practice's logo. This ensures your documentation is consistent, efficient and specialized for your needs (e.g., cardiology forms with specific heart diagrams).
    • Electronic Prescriptions: Send prescriptions electronically to pharmacies directly from the patient chart. Access the drug's formulary tier, prior authorization requirements and alternative medications if the prescribed drug isn’t covered. Access patient PDMP data directly within the EHR to identify potential abuse, misuse or doctor shopping.
    • Free Draw: Upload images (x-rays, scans, photos) or use pre-loaded anatomical diagrams within the patient chart and draw directly on them.
    • Custom Vitals: Create vitals specific to your needs including things like blood glucose and oxygen saturation levels. Capture data in various formats: text, numbers or predefined options using dropdown lists. Access the flowsheet to visualize trends in custom vitals over time.
    • Prior Authorizations: Initiate the ePA request directly from the prescribing workflow. Automatically populate the prior authorization request form with relevant patient information (demographics, insurance details, medication prescribed) pulled from the patient's chart.
    • Lab Orders: Integrate with national, regional and specialty labs like Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp. Create predefined lab panels for common tests or specific conditions. For example, you could create a "lipid panel" or a "prenatal panel" with a single click. View lab results within the patient's chart, organized by date, test type and ordering provider.
    • Medical Speech-to-Text: Use voice to input clinical notes, patient histories and other information. See your spoken words appear as text in real time within the EHR to review and edit the transcription as you go.
    • Immunization Registries: Automatically send your patients' vaccination details to the state IIS, ensuring that records are up-to-date and complete. Retrieve immunization records from the IIS, even if your patient received vaccinations elsewhere to avoid unnecessary duplicate vaccinations and identify potential gaps in their immunization schedule.
  • Practice Management: Save time and reduce errors with appointment management tools, including appointment profiles, insurance eligibility checks, online scheduling and automated reminders.
    • Appointment Profiles: Instead of manually entering the same details (length, reason, etc.) for every appointment of the same type, you create a profile once and it auto-fills the details (duration, reason for visit, exam room and billing codes).
    • Eligibility Checks: Verify your patients’ insurance eligibility in real time — check what services are covered under the plan (e.g., office visits, labs, specialists) and any limitations or exclusions.
    • Online Scheduling: Set specific days and times when each provider is available for appointments. Offer different appointment types online (e.g., new patient, follow-up, consultation) with varying durations. Add buffer time between appointments to prevent scheduling conflicts and allow for patient check-in/check-out.
    • Patient Reminders: Send automated appointment reminders via email, text or SMS. Configure reminders to be sent at various intervals before the appointment like — a few days before, the day before or a few hours before.
  • Medical Billing: Improve your revenue cycle management with tools like billing profiles, medical coding and automated claims submission.
    • Billing Profiles: Combine frequently used CPT, HCPCS, custom codes and ICD-10 codes into a single profile. Attach common modifiers to the codes within the profile (e.g., modifier 25 for a significant, separately identifiable E/M service).
    • Medical Coding: Easily search and select the appropriate codes within the EHR using keywords, code numbers or descriptions. Perform basic code checking to identify potential errors such as invalid codes or missing modifiers.
    • Good Faith Estimates: Generate good faith estimates to help patients understand costs upfront and avoid surprise bills.
    • Claims Submission: Submit electronic claims to insurance companies within the system. Track claim statuses in real time. Scrub claims for errors like missing information or formatting mistakes before submitting them to payers to avoid denials and claim rejections.
    • Denial Resolution: Generate denial analysis reports to identify denial patterns. Edit and submit corrected claims directly within the system. If you disagree with a denial, generate appeal letters and track their statuses.
    • Patient Statements: Generate statements for individual patients or groups of patients based on various criteria (e.g., date range, insurance status, outstanding balance).
  • BI Tools: Get a visual summary of key metrics and performance indicators. Generate customizable reports to:
    • Track revenue, expenses and profitability
    • Analyze claim submission, acceptance, denial and reimbursement rates.
    • Track patient demographics, appointment history and billing information.
    • Analyze appointment scheduling and no-show rates.
  • Mobile Capabilities: Schedule appointments, send patient statements, bill insurance, document patient encounters, access lab results and more from iOS devices like iPad, iPhone and Mac.
  • Telehealth: Patients can join the telehealth visit from their computer, tablet or smartphone using the link provided in their email reminder. Providers can share their screens with patients to review medical records, lab results, X-rays or educational materials.
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Why We Picked NextGen Enterprise

Our research analysts, after evaluating several solutions, awarded NextGen Enterprise with best-in-class honors for Insurance Payments Management, Medical Coding, Medical Billing Services, Notes and Templates, and Deployment Options.

NextGen Enterprise provides EHR, practice management and patient experiene modules that support 2000 workflows and content for 30 specialties including cardiology, dental health, neurology, primary care and more.

Intutive EHR tools make it easy for doctors and nurses to document patient visits. You can even use AI for note-taking. And with the mobile app, you can access patient info and chart on the go.

The platform really shines when it comes to practice management. It automates a ton of time-consuming tasks like eligibility verification and billing, so your staff can focus on what really matters: patient care. Plus, the built-in analytics give practices valuable insights to improve efficiency and, ultimately, the bottom line.

Patient engagement is also a key focus, with the NextGen PxP patient portal empowering patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey. They can schedule appointments, request refills, view test results and even message their doctors securely.

One area that the system lacked was its integrative capabilities. It scored 77 in our analysis, lower than other popular products like athenahealth (93) and Cerner Ambulatory (88). That means you will need to connect barcode scanners, clinical decision support tools, prescription management systems and others via API.

Pros & Cons

  • Improve Patient Care: Get access to complete and up-to-date patient records, including medical histories, allergies, medications and test results for data-driven and informed decision-making.
  • Streamline Routine Workflows: Automate scheduling, billing and documentation processes to reduce administrative burdens and free up time for patient care.
  • Enhance Medication Safety: Set automated alerts to check for drug interactions, allergies and dosage errors to significantly reduce adverse drug event risks.
  • Complex Implementation: Demands time and resources for implementation, customization and staff training.
  • High Initial Costs: Requires significant investment in software, hardware and training.
  • Dependence on Technology: Creates reliance on technology, which can be problematic during system downtimes or technical failures.

Key Features

  • SOAP Notes: Record reasons to visit, social, family and diagnostic histories, vitals, physical exams, assessments/plans, and medications using the SOAP format. Use HPI (history of present illness) templates to document the patient's reason for visit, including onset, duration, severity, associated symptoms, and aggravating/relieving factors.
  • Templates: Use pre-built templates for patient visits, progress notes, procedures, patient intake, consent forms and letters. Tailor these or create new ones to perfectly fit your specific workflows.
  • Ambient Assist: Use smart AI technology to listen in on your patient conversations, capturing key information and automatically creating notes in your system.
  • Mobile App: Review and sign documents, view schedules and see high-level patient overviews (medications, allergies, past medical histories, etc.) Document patient visits using voice-to-text functionality. Save and prescribe frequently used medications with a few clicks.
  • Order Entry: Order labs, diagnostics and immunization from the CPOE bar on the patient’s chart. Click on order search to see your common orders.
  • Regulatory Reporting: Automate MIPS/MACRA data collection and reporting to demonstrate quality measures, improve outcomes and earn incentives. Collect and submit Uniform Data System (UDS) reports for FQHCs and eligible providers to track clinical quality measures and other HRSA-required data.
  • E-Prescribing: Launch the state-run Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) database with a single click. Verify formulary coverage and benefits while writing the prescription. Initiate prior authorization requests directly from the prescribing window with pre-populated information. Securely transmit prescriptions to pharmacies nationwide through the Surescripts network.
  • Population Health: Collect patient data from EHRs, lab results, claims and health information exchanges. Use AGC, HCC or ASCVD risk algorithms to sort patients into different risk categories based on their health conditions, demographics and other factors. Analyze this data to look for anything that might be missing or doesn't quite add up. It could be a lab test that wasn't done, a prescription that wasn't filled or a recommended screening that was missed.
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Why We Picked Meditab

Meditab consistently receives praise for its intuitive interface and user-friendly design. Healthcare professionals appreciate the platform's ease of use, allowing them to efficiently manage patient records, schedule appointments, and handle billing tasks. The software's customization options are also a significant advantage, enabling users to tailor the system to their specific workflows and preferences. However, some users have noted that Meditab's customer support can be inconsistent, with response times varying depending on the issue's complexity. Additionally, while Meditab offers a comprehensive suite of features, it may lack some of the advanced functionalities found in more specialized EMR systems, such as those designed for niche medical practices.

Meditab's strengths lie in its simplicity, customizability, and affordability, making it an attractive option for small to medium-sized healthcare practices seeking a reliable and user-friendly EMR solution. The software's ease of use can significantly reduce the learning curve for new users, allowing practices to quickly adopt and integrate the system into their daily operations. However, larger healthcare organizations or those with highly specialized needs may find that Meditab's feature set is not as extensive as some of its competitors. Ultimately, Meditab is best suited for healthcare practices that prioritize user-friendliness, affordability, and a core set of EMR functionalities.

Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: Meditab's user interface is often praised for its intuitiveness and ease of navigation, making it simple for healthcare professionals to find the information they need quickly. The platform's straightforward design reduces the learning curve and allows users to become proficient with the system rapidly.
  • Comprehensive Features: Meditab offers a wide range of features to support various aspects of medical practice management, including patient scheduling, billing, charting, and e-prescribing. This comprehensive suite of tools eliminates the need for multiple software solutions, streamlining workflows and enhancing efficiency.
  • Customization Options: Meditab provides extensive customization options, allowing healthcare providers to tailor the system to their specific needs and preferences. Users can configure workflows, templates, and reports to align with their unique practice requirements, promoting greater flexibility and personalization.
  • Cloud-Based Accessibility: As a cloud-based solution, Meditab offers convenient accessibility from any device with an internet connection. This feature enables healthcare professionals to access patient information, manage appointments, and perform other tasks remotely, enhancing flexibility and mobility.
  • Steep Learning Curve: Meditab's interface can be overwhelming for new users due to its extensive features and customization options. This complexity can lead to a longer onboarding process and require additional training resources.
  • Outdated User Interface: The user interface of Meditab is considered outdated by some users, who find it less intuitive and visually appealing compared to more modern EMR systems.
  • Customization Challenges: While Meditab offers a high degree of customization, implementing and managing these customizations can be technically challenging and may require assistance from Meditab's support team or experienced IT professionals.

Key Features

  • Mobile Device Access: Allow patients to schedule tele visits on the go. Benefit from an app available on smartwatches.
  • Voice Recognition: Leverage voice recognition technology to simplify note taking and record keeping. Practitioners can spend more time on patient care than on compiling notes.
  • Self-Service Portals: Patients can log in through a self-service portal that allows them to see their test data, make or change appointments and converse with providers.
  • Inventory Management: Remain compliant, secure and organized to manage inventory and ensure proper care and usage of equipment and products.
  • Care Protocol: Use care protocol features to attain clinical decision support.
  • Flow Charts: Create and manage clinical flow charts to stay updated with individual patients’ health.
  • Chronic Care Management: Support chronic care management by providing pre-loaded templates.
  • Referral Management: Manage all patient-physician and physician-physician referrals through a single system.
  • Order Plus: Fill and send e-prescriptions from within the dashboard. View and integrate lab orders and results.
  • Single Database: Avoid double-entry errors with a single database for record keeping and practice management.
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Why We Picked ICANotes

ICANotes is a robust solution for health practices. Users like the templates they provide as they are easy to get through. Documenting assessments and clinical notes is easy and makes compliance seamless. Users do not like the interface as it is hard to create individual notes, and the yellow background is not very pleasing to the eye. It also signs out when users lose internet connection. The support team is helpful in all areas like sales, technical support and training. Users were disappointed that it does not have telehealth support.

Pros & Cons

  • User Friendly: The system is intuitive and accessible, as noted by approximately 72% of users who mentioned its usability.
  • Customization: Almost 100% of the users who mentioned its customizability state that modules can be adjusted according to their needs.
  • Support: Support for the system is prompt, and the team is very helpful with resolving issues that arise, as stated by nearly 87% of the users who mention the support offered.
  • Interface: Nearly 70% of the users who mention its interface say that it is dated and not easy to navigate.
  • Learning Curve: It has a steep learning curve, as mentioned by 85% of the users who mention its learning curve.

Key Features

  • Deploy Anywhere: Deploy on the cloud, with minimal hardware requirements. Has a mobile application for taking notes within a clinical setting. 
  • Stage Two Meaningful Use: Certified to meet stage two meaningful use standards, meaning users can take advantage of incentive programs.  
  • Pre-Formatted Clinical Notes: Handles notes for a variety of behavioral health professions, such as psychiatry, clinical-social work, family therapy, group therapy, therapy and mental health record taking with its robust note-taking features. 
  • Robust Integrations: Integrates with other providers and labs to share notes, lab results, charges, patient data, appointments and more — all across different software systems. 
  • E-Prescribing: Useful for psychiatrists and other prescribers. E-Prescribing lets clinicians send medications to pharmacies and manage and digitally update dosages, amounts or instructions with the software’s medication management features. Equipped with a robust database of drug side effects, interactions and other support tools to prevent adverse side effects. 
  • Automatic Coding: Uses HCFA Guidelines to automatically evaluate and code a patient’s entire treatment journey. Handles coding for psychiatry, therapy, group therapy and more, ensuring the use of E/M reimbursement codes and preventing expensive back charges.
  • Enhanced Security: Helps users stay HIPAA compliant. Utilizes advanced entry point protection, full encryption (for both sending and receiving documentation and data), access logs, custom alerting, note privacy, record destruction prevention and access levels to make sure both patient and user data are secure and regulation compliant.  
  • ONC-Certified: ONC-Certified and ready to meet any standard. ONC-ATLs, organizations working with The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology test and certify electronic health record (EHR) systems. 
  • 75+ Assessment Tools: Gives clinicians access to over 75 rating and assessment tools, meaning patients get better results, administrators can accurately bill and clinicians can better treat.
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Why We Picked Valant

Valant is a web-based EHR tool geared towards mental health professionals. It has an easy-to-use UI with robust reporting and billing capabilities. It streamlines client management and clinical workflows by managing client medical records, tracking revenue and monitoring patient progress. Note templates can be customized extensively. While some users found the platform affordable, others found it expensive for solo practitioners. Users complained that the system was slow and crashed frequently. It uses Silverlight, which limits browser compatibility. Users also found features like appointment reminders and treatment plans ineffective. There were negative reviews for customer service, which users found unprofessional. Overall, it’s an intuitive cloud-based tool with a multifaceted design.

Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: The system is user-friendly and easy to use, as noted by approximately 74% of users who mentioned its usability.
  • Customization: About 67% of users who reviewed customization enjoyed the solution’s ability to customize its features.
  • Learning Curve: The system is easy to learn, as noted by 60% of users who talked about the learning curve.
  • Support: Approximately 53% of users who mentioned support found their customer service slow and unresponsive.
  • Functionality: The solution lacks functionality and causes glitches, noted by about 65% of users who spoke about functionality.
  • Connectivity: All users who talked about connectivity found issues with it.

Key Features

  • Scheduling: Manage practically every aspect of a practice from a customizable calendar. Set appointments in advance and color code to provide visual references. Navigation to a patient’s information is simple as well. 
  • E-Prescribing: Manage medications at any time from anywhere. Check, refill and renew prescriptions right from the dashboard, reducing prescribing errors while providing patients with automated alerts and notifications. 
  • Clinical Notes: Create comprehensive patient notes while focusing on the patient rather than the computer, keeping notes while in-session and storing them safely. 
  • Treatment Planning: Enables collaboration, either between the clinician and the client or multiple clinicians. Track updates, review dates and capture patient signatures as well. 
  • Billing and Reporting: Use integrated billing to automate data entry, eliminating the tedious task of duplicating data, increasing information accuracy, saving staff time while making sure payments are collected, increasing revenue.  
  • Analytics: Provides insight to help manage both the quality of care provided and the financial status of a health organization. These tools help engage clients in their care, leading to better clinical outcomes while tracking finances and improving reimbursement rates. 
  • HIPAA-Compliant Telemedicine: Video sessions include advanced authentication measures on the provider and client side to ensure virtual visits remain secure and adhere to HIPAA regulations. These functionalities are integrated directly into the existing EHR platform. 
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Why We Picked CareLogic

CareLogic is a user-friendly behavioral health and human service EHR platform that enables customers to operate efficiently, connect strategically and make data-driven decisions. It is a highly configurable and customizable system that can fulfill company-specific requirements and use-cases. Its seamless navigation capabilities can elevate customer experience, but it does not provide intuitive reports to the users. Many reviewers have noted that its ticketing system can be annoying, and responses are difficult to understand. Also, the slow updates and frequent freezing issue can hinder overall performance.

Pros & Cons

  • Ease of Use: It is easy to use and understand the software, as noted by 92% of the reviewers who mention ease of use.
  • Customize: Its forms and features can be customized according to any use case, as observed by over 72% of reviewers specifying customization.
  • Navigate: It is easy to navigate through various tools and options, as stated by 85% of the users referring to navigation.
  • Configure: The system is highly configurable, as observed by around 73% of the reviewers who specify configuration.
  • Reporting: It has a limited canned reporting feature, as noted by 74% of reviewers who mention reporting.
  • Updates: All the users who refer to updates note that it takes time to roll out new updates.
  • Tickets: Its ticketing system isn’t responsive and can be difficult to comprehend, as stated by 58% of the reviewers specifying tickets.
  • Freeze: All the users mentioning performance report that it freezes frequently, affecting user performance.

Key Features

  • Performance Dashboards: Share real-time insights across teams to identify areas of improvement and boost productivity. 
  • Custom Forms: Supports customized workflows to collect organization-specific documentation. 
  • Interdisciplinary Treatment Plan: Improves staff productivity using a streamlined, highly flexible treatment plan workflow. 
  • Outcomes Management:  Supports better client outcomes with integrated, comprehensive screening, assessment and outcome instruments. 
  • Clinical Quality Measures Reporting: It provides CQM dashboards and reports to drive improvements in care and outcomes. 
  • E-Prescribing: Prescriptions can be managed online, thus addressing patient safety concerns and reducing potential errors. 

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KCare

by Compu-Care Management & Systems Inc.
KCare
KCare is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline the management of tasks within Behavioral Health settings. It is particularly well-suited for mental health clinics, social service agencies, and other organizations that require robust case management and client tracking capabilities. The software excels in providing tools for scheduling, billing, documentation, and compliance, making it an invaluable asset for professionals who need to manage large volumes of client data efficiently. One of the standout benefits of KCare is its user-friendly interface, which simplifies the process of entering and retrieving client information. This ease of use is frequently highlighted in user reviews, with many praising its ability to reduce administrative burdens and improve overall workflow. Popular features include electronic health records (EHR), customizable reporting, and secure communication channels, all of which contribute to enhanced client care and operational efficiency. In terms of pricing, KCare typically operates on a subscription model, with costs varying based on the number of users and specific features required. This flexible pricing structure allows organizations to scale their usage according to their needs, making it a cost-effective solution for both small and large entities. Compared to similar products, KCare is often noted for its reliability and comprehensive feature set, which many users find superior in meeting the unique demands of Behavioral Health management.
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Buyer's Guide

Mental Health Software Is All About Improving Mental Health Care and Efficiency

Mental Health Software BG Header

Mental health and behavioral clinics often require more specialized modules than other health care fields. Mental health EHR/EMR solutions are the most basic and commonly adopted standalone solutions, sometimes used synonymously with mental health solutions.

Modern practitioners are choosing to implement specialized mental health software, also known as behavioral health software.

This guide is designed to help you acquire a clear understanding of the mental health software category. It aims to answer your questions regarding the features and modules to actively seek — and the ones you can probably ignore. It will also assist you in evaluating vendors and selecting your own software.

Executive Summary

  • Mental health software refers to various solutions and modules catering to mental health and behavioral health professionals.
  • Mental health EHR solutions provide features such as scheduling, charting, outcome analysis and more.
  • The mental and behavioral health software market is growing rapidly, with constant technological innovations.
  • Before selecting software, understand which features you need and which ones you want.
  • Certified solutions go a long way to remain compliant with regulations and provide value-based care.
What This Guide Covers:

What Is Mental Health Software?

Mental health software, and specifically mental health EHR software, is a type of medical application dedicated to mental health practitioners to facilitate clinical, administrative and day-to-day practice operations.

These are designed with inputs from psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, behavioral coaches and other behavioral health providers to support their unique care and administrative needs. It may also refer to general medical solutions with specialized mental health modules.

Mental health solutions are available as specialized standalone modules or robust comprehensive medical practice management suites for mental health practices of all sizes, including prescribers or non-prescribers and solo or group practices. End-to-end systems should include:

  • Secure interoperable clinical records database
  • Mental health documentation templates
  • Telemedicine/teletherapy and secure messaging
  • E-prescribing
  • Appointment and workflow scheduling
  • Patient or caregiver engagement portal
  • Billing, claims and payment processing
  • Insight reporting and compliance tracking

Other standalone solutions include:

Some vendors also allow you to choose specific modules you want to implement and quote prices accordingly.

Make sure to only pay for the modules you use — for example, as a psychologist, e-prescribing modules might not be necessary.

Mental health software may also refer to online mobile-friendly platforms that connect professionals and individuals. It may be opted into by businesses to aid their employees or separately by individuals seeking mental care.

Who Uses Them?

Mental health solutions are aimed at professionals from a wide range of disparate specialties and subspecialties. Vendors either offer software dedicated to a particular specialty or specialized modules to handle several subspecialties.

These solutions aid psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists who treat personality and mood disorders, executive dysfunctions, addiction and substance abuse, geriatric needs, children and adolescent-specific disorders, learning disabilities, or other behavioral health conditions.

It may also cater to the specific needs of stress, career, relationship and marriage counselors, psychoanalysts and social workers.

Primary Benefits

In addition to typical EHR/EMR and practice management functionalities, mental health platforms offer various modules geared towards mental health. Some mental health-specific benefits are:

Mental Health Software Benefits

Streamline Billing

Mental health billing software isn’t encumbered with diagnosis and treatment codes irrelevant to mental health specialties. It speeds up your practice’s revenue cycle with relevant DSM-5 codes, ICD codes and coding assistance.

Manage complicated billing scenarios innate to behavioral health settings with automated specialty-based modifiers to streamline the mental health E/M coding process and maximize revenues.

Behavioral health billing software solutions offer specialized codes and claim form templates to facilitate your claim filing and reimbursement processes accurately. They also allow for time-based billing and authorization tracking to maximize reimbursements.

Improve Treatment and Diagnostic Accuracy

Streamline the entire mental health care process from assessment to outcome using various specialized tools.

The patient data you collect during mental health evaluations is inherently different from any other specialty. Mental health EHR software solutions offer flexible charting templates to evaluate patients properly.

Use custom intake and assessment templates with additional querying and noting capabilities to get a comprehensive history and assess clients presenting in various ways. Templates should support unstructured data collection to record subjective descriptions of patients.

Behavioral health software should also allow you to develop complex treatment plans that support multiple approaches and variables. Add goals and intervention strategies based on presented symptoms and personalized notes to track patient progress and manage outcomes.

Get treatment recommendations and alerts to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes using decision support functionality. Documentation tools also include sadness and pain scales, mental health addiction severity indexes, and behavioral risk factor monitoring for suicidal or violent tendencies.

Providers can use mental health EHR software to e-prescribe controlled psychotropic medications and manage patient outcomes with decision support, medication compliance, 12-step programs and relapse prevention modules.

Enhance Patient Accommodation

Mental and behavioral health patients often need greater ease and convenience. Some vendors provide telemedicine software and remote care tools to help patients receive care from anywhere. Convenient rescheduling, increased reminders, and continuous follow-ups and encouragement can go a long way to improve mental health patient outcomes.

Mobile mental health care apps have experienced a rise in popularity for their convenience, as they provide on-the-go access to care. Mobile mental health care access can be beneficial for patients, especially in crises.

In addition to providing mobile-accessible remote sessions and patient portals tools, mobile apps let you access and manage several aspects of your practice using any device, from anywhere.

Other than the mental health-specific benefits discussed above, mental health systems typically offer the same benefits as general medical systems.

Of course, since different platforms provide different modules, they may not offer features critical to your workflow; even if they do, they might need to be more robust.

Thus, it’s vital to review vendors (which we’ll discuss in detail) and plan integrations with additional software, such as EMR, EHR, practice management software and medical billing software. Check out our EHR integration guide to understand how different integrations work and how to implement them.

That said, these broader benefits are no less significant for your practice. Here’s a brief overview of the general benefits mental health software can offer:

Ensure Data Security and Confidentiality

As a mental health practitioner, protecting your patients’ data security and confidentiality is a top priority. The right software secures your patient database and communication modules with encrypted security, access regulations and more.

Adhere to Regulations and Incentives

Qualify for various government incentives such as “meaningful use” or “Promoting Interoperability Programs” by implementing an ONC-ATCB certified software.

If you’re not sure if you should partake in these programs, this EHR incentive guide should tell you what these programs are and exactly why you should participate. You can also check out how to approach particular programs, like navigating MIPS.

The right solution should also comply HIPAA, GDPR and FDA policies such as the 21st Century Cures Act and local health care laws.

In addition to providing robust data security and confidentiality, medical software should ensure data structure and data sharing standardization, compliance tracking, and transparent patient access with e-prescribing and patient portal modules to remain compliant.

Increase Clinical and Operational Efficiency

Streamline paperwork and clinical processing. Provide for patients with ease using accessible patient records, drug and allergy interaction alerts, speech recognition, e-prescriptions and automation tools.

Check lab reports, images, medication histories and patient vitals directly from the palm of your hand. Reduce no-shows and cancellations by creating a smooth practice schedule.

Coordinate group therapy sessions, tasks, meetings and operational workflows. Reduce transcription errors associated with patient intake, documentation, billing and more. Generate specialized operational reports to find insights and improve various aspects of your clinic.

Improve Patient Experiences

Allow patients to self-schedule appointments, choose between telehealth or in-person sessions and complete their intake forms online. Reduce waiting times during their office visits and improve patient-provider communication.

Patients can access critical clinical information and take a proactive approach to their health care through a self-service portal.

Key Features & Functionality

Mental Health EHR/EMR and Patient Charting

A core module of behavioral health software, mental health EMR/EHR provides a secure centralized database to record, access and utilize comprehensive patient information, including:

  • Medication history
  • Diagnoses
  • Demographics
  • Vital signs
  • Allergies
  • Treatment goals

Receive and share complete patient details with other practices to enable the continuation of care.

Look for a HIPAA-compliant system that includes lab interfaces, automatic mental health E/M coding and an extensive library of specialty-specific mental health documentation templates — like essential mental health note formats such as BIRP, SOAP and DAP — to facilitate patient encounters with a conditional logic engine, unstructured data processing and auto-population tools.

Another feature to seek is the golden thread, which refers to the seamless flow and utilization of data between patient charts to enrich and automate assessments, treatment plans, progress notes and prescriptions.

Advanced software provides automated data-driven narrative summaries, pre-population of common or frequent clinical phrases, body charts for pain assessments, speech recognition, e-signatures, and more.

Assessment and Screening

A core feature of mental solutions is the ability to assess and screen patients to collect data, record complaints, aid in diagnosis and identify underlying conditions. As such, they should provide:

  • Standardization forms
  • Questionnaires
  • Checklists
  • Rating scales

You’ll also want them to facilitate interviews and observations to conduct initial screening and assessments, including bio-psychosocial evaluations, mental status exams, and psychological and psychiatric tests.

Solutions should include screening tools for various conditions, including general depression, addiction, anxiety and trauma. They should offer multiple assessment formats like questionnaires, checklists, scales, interviews and observations. They should also be DSM-5 updated and account for age, sex and other relevant parameters.

Treatment Planning and Progress Tracking

Map out unique data-driven treatment paths for your patients based on the data points collected through assessments to manage conditions and outcomes over time. Define goals, objectives and interventions to create a blueprint and align short- and long-term goals.

Some solutions let you add progress notes into plans and track patient progress in reference to goals or target behavior through data-driven visualizations.

Look for a solution that allows customizable multidisciplinary care planning since mental health patients often require a multi-pronged approach consisting of medications, psychiatric interventions, behavioral therapy and more.

E-prescribing and Medication Management

Generate electronic prescriptions and send them directly to a patient’s preferred pharmacy from the approved network. Authorize refills as needed. Psychiatric providers should opt for a solution that can e-prescribe up to schedule II controlled substances commonly used for psychiatric treatment, like Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse.

Advanced solutions let you track allergies and drug interactions to maximize patient safety. They also let you track medication availability and inventory, compare medication prices, review comprehensive medication history, and manage medication administration.

Billing and Claims Management

Most mental health platforms provide a number of modules to streamline the practice billing cycle or offer integrations with full-fledged medical billing platforms. Perform automated insurance eligibility verification and accurate charge capture with ICD-10 and -11 coding assistance for mental health codes.

Claims management modules handle the claim submission and correction process with various templates, including essential behavioral health claims such as UB-04 or residential claims and CMS-1500.

Produce reports on all aspects of the revenue cycle. Advanced software offers automated mental health modifiers to select service levels and custom codes, and time-based billing by tracking authorized units by hours, expirations and renewals.

Scheduling

The right software should manage and coordinate every aspect of your clinic, especially when it comes to scheduling patient appointments. Many solutions come with a centralized interactive calendar with increased visibility to open appointment slots, physician and equipment availability, and practice tasks and workflows. Let patients self-schedule and send them automated session reminders via text, email or phone.

Favor systems that feature color-coding, multiple appointment types including group therapy sessions, shared calendar visibility with access controls and most importantly, user-friendly design. Systems should integrate seamlessly with specialized practice management software to enrich their clinical coordination functionality.

Patient Engagement Portal

Most systems provide a secure self-service portal accessible 24/7 from any web-enabled device to accommodate patients and improve communication through telehealth and messaging modules. Patients can self-schedule, cancel or reschedule appointments, receive timely session reminders, and access their clinical data, prescriptions, lab results, diagnoses and mental health resources. Through the portal, patients can also handle the pre-registration process, submit payments and provide demographic and insurance information to fill in intake and consent forms with integrated e-signature approval.

In mental health care settings, it’s essential to choose a system with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. Specific behavioral systems offer a portal aimed at caregivers to monitor patient behavior and progress and collect data with ease.

Analytics and Reporting

Generate data-driven specialized reports to find actionable insights on various aspects of your clinic, including patient outcomes, claim acceptance rates, practice schedules, compliance requirements and more.

Some platforms help you find trends and patterns, visualize insights with various tools and dashboards, and even make predictions based on historical data.

Current & Upcoming Trends

According to a Strategic Market Research report, the global mental health software market was valued at $2.44 billion in 2021. It’s expected to reach $7.61 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.39%.

Mental Health EHR Market Stat

This growth is driven by increased government investments and initiatives, rapid digitization in the health care sector, and a growing need to deal with mental health issues.

The EHR/EMR market will continue to retain a significant market share, but the global mental health market is competitive and encourages players to launch numerous technological innovations.

Let’s look at a significant trend shaping the industry:

Remote Care Coordination Platforms

These emerging platforms coordinate mental health care by acting as a medium to connect mental health professionals and individuals through remote messaging and video conferencing.

They also offer mental health resource libraries to aid individuals. These applications claim to provide a fast, convenient and anonymous introduction to affordable care.

Organizations can also implement these platforms to aid their employees. Ascertain data privacy and regulatory compliance information before opting for such solutions; theNational Institute for Mental Health can be a good starting point for your research.

Other trends include increased adoption of cloud software and mobile web-based software.

Software Comparison Strategy

Each solution will only provide some features. But now that you have a fair idea of the software category and its benefits and features, you can just dive right in and select a new platform, right? We’re afraid your quest to find the perfect fit isn’t over yet; it’s just begun.

The secret is to build the perfect requirements template for your unique practice needs before evaluating any vendors.

Your requirements will vary significantly, depending on what kind of health care professional you are — psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral coaches, counselors, and social workers and their subspecialties all have different requirements.

We’ll also discuss a set of questions you’d need to ask internally to build a requirements template. However, it can still be a complicated process. Get assistance from our analysts to build your comprehensive requirements.

Irrespective of your requirements, we have curated a few key factors to prioritize:

  • ONC-ATCB certification
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Value of integrated software vs. standalone modules
  • Interoperability
  • Mobility
  • Telemedicine
  • ICD-10 and -11 access
  • Multiple facility support
  • Usability

ONC-ATCB Certification

While it isn’t a requirement, we strongly recommend investing in an ONC-certified mental health EHR/EMR solution. ONC-ATCB certification indicates that the solution meets all privacy, security and implementation standards to meet meaningful use goals.

Certified solutions provide efficient data storage, retrieval and transfer. They also offer adequate functionalities to accommodate value-based care. Make sure your vendor meets meaningful use stage 3 requirements.

Regulatory Compliance

While we’re on the subject of meeting regulatory standards, it’s also vital to ensure compliance with HIPAA, the 21st Century Cures Act and other state and federal regulations.

Value of Integrated Software vs. Standalone Modules

If you’re just starting out and have basic patient charting needs, a standalone behavioral health EHR/EMR might work for you; you can always integrate it with other standalone modules.

That said, getting an all-in-one integrated suite has perks, including streamlining all your patient records, billing and practice management needs.

While costly, many providers prefer end-to-end health care solutions for the simplicity they provide. At the end of the day, it’ll all come down to preference, budget and what works best for your organization’s business requirements.

Interoperability

Even if your system fulfills all your practice needs now, it might not do so later. Incorporating multiple points of data entry into a single practice workflow is error-prone and time-consuming.

Interoperable systems solve this problem; they seamlessly scale and integrate with third-party applications using secure APIs, promoting continuity of care.

Mobility

As we mentioned, mobile systems can be extremely convenient for all practices. Treat your patients and manage practice operations remotely through mobile devices.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine and telehealth capabilities are invaluable to behavioral professionals, even more so following the pandemic.

ICD-10 and -11 Access

Choose a system that lets you access ICD-10 and -11 codes and cross-check them with DSM-5 codes seamlessly.

Multiple Facility Support

Since mental health facilities are run on inpatient, outpatient, partial inpatient or blended programs, your software should support various facility types.

Usability

Lastly, you and your patients should be able to use and navigate the system with ease.

Here are our time-tested suggestions before you venture into software selection:

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Pricing for mental health EHR software varies, depending on several factors which are different for every practice. Some of them include:

  • Method of deployment (cloud vs. on-premises)
  • Size of your practice
  • Modules included
  • Customization and additional features
  • Support and training

Expenses that are often neglected:

  • Data migration
  • Implementation services
  • Maintenance and updates

Software vendors typically offer three pricing models:

Ownership or Perpetual License Model

Traditionally offered with on-premises deployment, this model has higher upfront expenses due to permanent license ownership and hardware investment, along with the usual customization, setup and integration expenses. However, it requires lower recurring expenses, such as maintenance and support services

Subscription Model

More popular with cloud-based deployment, this model requires lower upfront expenses and higher recurring expenses, which account for the vendor hosting the solutions and performing regular maintenance and upkeep.

Open-source

Open-source licenses are available for free. However, it might be costly and time-consuming to implement, integrate and maintain them.

In the end, your decision ultimately depends on what pricing structure aligns best with your practice’s budget constraints at the time.

Questions To Ask

To identify which functionalities your clinic needs and compile your perfect requirements template, you first need to ask some questions internally; that includes yourself, your staff and key stakeholders. Use these questions as a starting point for internal conversations:

  • Are you starting off as a new clinic or transitioning to paperless charts?
  • Which practice issues do you need to address? What features does your clinic absolutely need?
  • Are you looking to implement a solution with better functionality or an integrated suite?
  • How much data does your clinic handle?
  • Have you consulted with key stakeholders about what they require?

Mental Health Questions to Ask

Once you’ve defined your internal requirements, the next step is to ask questions to your potential vendors to properly gauge what they’re offering. It’s always better to know what exactly you’re getting into before you invest in a solution. Use these questions as a starting point:

  • Is it interoperable?
  • Can you choose modules to personalize the system? Do you pay only for the modules you implement?
  • What support and training options do they provide?
  • Do they offer free trials?
  • What’s their implementation timetable? How do they support data migration?

Next Steps

Selecting a mental health solution may be a daunting task, but taking your time to understand its features and your own requirements definitely simplifies the process.

Aside from asking questions both internally and externally, remember to research thoroughly and opt for free trials. We hope that this guide can act as a solid foundation to help you get started on your mental health EHR software selection journey.

Ready to start your selection journey? Use our comparison report to find out more about the top solutions on the market.

Product Comparisons

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Technical Content Writer
As a technical writer and market analyst at SelectHub, Samikshan creates content for construction takeoff, medical EMR, EHR and ambulatory niches. He is a bibliophile and an ardent football fan with an unquenchable thirst for adventure. Outside business hours, one can find him on the football pitch or in his room, listening to metal music and patting his cat, Newton.
Technical Research By Dhanasri Yasam
Senior Analyst
As a Senior Research Analyst, Dhanasri Yasam works in key categories like EHR, EMR, business intelligence and HR. In her role, she conducts primary research, collects and analyzes empirical data, and draws evidence-based conclusions. She also has extensive experience gathering requirements for client projects. Dhanasri holds a B-tech in Computer Science and Engineering from Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Aurora's Business School, Hyderabad.
Technical Review By Manan Roy
Principal Analyst
Manan is a native of Tezpur, Assam (India), who currently lives in Kolkata, West Bengal (India). At SelectHub, he works on categories like CRM, HR, PPM, BI, and EHR. He has a Bachelor of Technology in CSE from The Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Master of Technology from The Institute of Engineering and Management IT, and an MBA in Finance from St. Xavier's College. He's published two research papers, one in a conference and the other in a journal, during his Master of Technology.
Edited By Pooja Verma
Content Editor
Pooja Verma is a Content Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub, who writes and edits content for endpoint security, legal, CRM, fundraising software, eCommerce, and mental health software. She earned a literature degree from Miranda House, DU and also holds Master’s in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in India. In her free time, you can spot her reading a book or binge-watching the latest web series and movies.
Edited By Ryan McElroy
Content Editor
Ryan McElroy is a Content Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub who writes and edits content on various software types, along with their broader concepts and the industries they serve, including medical, construction, CMMS, supply chain management and legal. He studied at the University of Missouri (Mizzou) and earned his BA in Journalism in 2016. During his free time, you’ll find Ryan playing video/card/board games, sipping coffee and reading speculative fiction, or listening to music his loved ones often describe as “headache-inducing.”