A recent American College of Emergency Physician (ACEP) poll found that 87% reported that the number of patients seeking opioids has increased or stayed the same and of those patients, 57% of Emergency Room Physicians report that treatment services for opioid patients are rarely if ever available.
There are many reasons for this, including insurance, available professionals, lack of consensus in treatment, and available facilities, especially in rural or disenfranchised areas. Will the opioid crisis ever relent without attention to these problems?
As clinicians, payers, and legislators work to mitigate those challenges, the question is not whether technology can assist, but how long will it take to become adopted? Telemedicine, population health, tools that track Social Determinants of Health, medication monitoring, and data integration with primary care are all available and widely accepted solutions today, but generally not in the behavioral health landscape. What can be done to speed the adoption of the same technological advances in behavioral health that have so greatly impacted the lives of the chronic care clients in the physical realm?
H4 Technology is proud be lead this innovation with our forward-thinking clients at Nebraska Division of Behavioral Health, the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health. Both organizations are using our COMPASS product to manage mental health and substance abuse treatment. It will be fascinating to watch the improvement in outcomes related to this work.
Source: http://newsroom.acep.org/2017-10-30-Research-Offers-New-Insights-Into-the-Opioid-Crisis
