Netsmart and American Well Partner to Address the Opioid Crisis at HIMSS19

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and BOSTON, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Netsmart, a provider of electronic health records (EHRs), solutions and services to more than 25,000 behavioral health, social services and post-acute organizations and American Well®, a leading U.S. telehealth platform, today debuted a new approach to addressing the growing opioid crisis in the United States, as part of the Interoperability Showcase at the 2019 HIMSS Conference Feb. 11-14 in Orlando, Florida.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), roughly 11.4 million people misuse prescription opioids and an estimated 130 people die each day from opioid-related drug overdoses—including prescription medications, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse is $78.6 billion per year, as estimated by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This crisis impacts not just individuals, but also families and communities.

In response to this growing crisis, HHS developed a five-point strategy to combat opioid addiction. One of the five strategy points is centered on improving access to prevention, treatment and recovery support services. In 2017, the CDC announced that the rates of drug overdose deaths in rural areas had surpassed rates in urban areas. To help combat opioid addiction in rural communities, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave priority to 2018 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program applicants who were using innovative projects to address the opioid crisis in rural areas.

"Opioid addiction has immeasurable impacts on those who are fighting the disease, as well as their loved ones," said Ido Schoenberg, MD, Chairman and CEO at American Well. "Telehealth has begun to play a significant role in expanding access to the treatment and prevention of opioid addiction—both in rural and urban areas. We're excited we have partnered with Netsmart to show how technology can help assist with this critical need." 

"Our partnership with American Well provides access to real-time quality care across multiple provider specialties related to behavioral health, addictions, social services and post-acute. Many of these services are now being offered virtually and the combination of the Netsmart and American Well networks brings the largest provider reach across the nation," said Mike Valentine, CEO of Netsmart. "As payment models continue to shift to value-based care, connecting these scarce resources is key to providing integrated care."

Last year, Netsmart and American Well came together to announce a technology partnership to connect their respective networks, creating a community of providers to bring healthcare directly to the consumer virtually. The goal was to not only significantly improve health outcomes but lower costs by empowering providers to deliver care in the lowest acuity setting possible.

Building on this partnership, Netsmart has now integrated American Well's telehealth solution into its EHR platform. Through this integration, specialists can now conduct remote addiction therapy visits with individuals. This integrated workflow enables the delivery of real-time access to an addiction specialist that otherwise would not be accessible.

One Netsmart client has taken a unique approach to ensure individuals battling opioid addictions have access to treatment in the community.  A virtual visit is conducted within a mobile crisis van leveraging technology from Netsmart and American Well.  The provider in the mobile crisis van initiates the telehealth visit which connects the individual to their provider for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services.

To learn more, stop by the Interoperability Showcase at HIMSS 2019—booth #9100-10.  During the showcase, American Well and Netsmart will demonstrate a live workflow for substance use treatment. You can also visit American Well's main booth #4031, or Netsmart at booth #1413.  

About Netsmart
Netsmart designs, builds and delivers electronic health records (EHRs), solutions and services that are powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use. Our platform provides accurate, up-to-date information that is easily accessible to care team members in behavioral health, care at home, senior living and social services. We make the complex simple and personalized, so our clients can concentrate on what they do best: provide services and treatment that support whole-person care.

By leveraging the powerful Netsmart network, care providers can seamlessly and securely integrate information across communities, collaborate on the most effective treatments and improve outcomes for those in their care. Our streamlined systems and personalized workflows put relevant information at the fingertips of users when and where they need it.

For 50 years, Netsmart has been committed to providing a common platform to integrate care. SIMPLE. PERSONAL. POWERFUL.

Our more than 1,700 associates work hand-in-hand with our 600,000+ users in more than 25,000 organizations across the U.S. to develop and deploy technology that automates and coordinates everything from clinical to financial to administrative.

Learn more about how Netsmart is changing the face of healthcare today. Visit www.ntst.com, call 1-800-472-5509, follow us on our CareThreads Blog, LinkedIn and Twitter, like us on Facebook or visit us on YouTube.

Netsmart is pleased to support the EveryDayMatters® Foundation, which was established for behavioral health, care at home, senior living and social services organizations to learn from each other and share their causes and stories.

About American Well
American Well is a leading telehealth platform in the United States and globally, connecting and enabling providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care. American Well believes that digital care delivery will transform healthcare. The Company offers a single, comprehensive platform to support all telehealth needs from urgent to acute and post-acute care, as well as chronic care management and healthy living. With over a decade of experience, American Well powers telehealth solutions for over 130 health systems comprised of 2,000 hospitals and 55 health plan partners with over 7,000 employers, covering over 150 million lives. For more information, please visit AmericanWell.com.

American Well, Amwell, Virtual First and The Exchange are registered trademarks or trademarks of American Well Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Netsmart
Vince Koehler
[email protected] 
913.272.2235

American Well
Catherine Anderson
[email protected] 

Innsena Communications
[email protected] 

SOURCE American Well

Related Links

http://www.americanwell.com