Netsmart Clients to Receive Nearly $2 Million in Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Payments

GREAT RIVER, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Netsmart, the leading provider of clinical solutions for health and human services organizations nationwide, today announced that Netsmart clients have so far received or are on target to receive nearly $2 million in Medicaid incentive funds for the Meaningful Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR). This represents the largest amount of Meaningful Use funding commitments announced to date for behavioral health provider organizations. Netsmart clients already receiving incentive payments include:

• Regional Mental Health Center in Merrillville, Ind., has received $273,000 in Meaningful Use incentive payments and is on target to receive $819,000 throughout the six-year program. Geminus Corporation, a Netsmart client since 1983, provides professional management and support services to Regional Mental Health Center.
• Red Rock Behavioral Health Services in Oklahoma City, Okla., recently received its first Meaningful Use incentive payment. With seven Eligible Professionals, Red Rock expects to receive $446,250 in total Meaningful Use incentive funds.
• Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center in Princeton, W. Va. has received its 2011 incentive payment of $85,000 and could receive up to a total of $255,000 over the six-year program based on four Eligible Professionals.
• Pathways, Inc., an Ashland, Ky. - based provider of behavioral healthcare services, is receiving a $127,500 first year payment based on six Eligible Professionals, with the potential of receiving $382,500 for those professionals over the six-year funding period.

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In addition to these provider organizations, nearly 40 other Netsmart clients are already prepared for Meaningful Use and an additional 20 are finalizing their plans.

Netsmart EHRs are 100% Complete ARRA-certified, enabling provider organizations to meet all Meaningful Use criteria and qualify for funds through their Eligible Professionals, such as physicians and nurse practitioners. Netsmart also offers services to assist its clients with Meaningful Use readiness planning and security.

"It's a great confidence builder for our clients to see the funds tied to their achieving Meaningful Use begin to flow," said Mike Valentine, chief executive officer, Netsmart. "We're pleased to be a continued driving force in providing Meaningful Use solutions, education, awareness and advocacy on behalf of our clients. It's especially rewarding to see the efforts of Netsmart and our clients support the ultimate goal of the incentive program – leveraging technology to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes while at the same time reducing the cost of care. Together, we are producing real, measurable results."

Netsmart's Meaningful Use initiatives support the "Triple Aim" for healthcare system delivery improvement as outlined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:

• Better care for individuals
• Better health for populations
• Lower costs through continuous improvement

In addition, Netsmart's delivery of Meaningful Use solutions reinforces the elements of HIT-enabled health reform envisioned by inclusion of the Meaningful Use incentive program in the HITECH Act:

• Use of EHRs to capture health information in a structured format
• Use of health information technology for continuous quality improvement at the point of care and the exchange of information in the most structured format possible
• Improvements in quality, safety and efficiency that lead to improved health outcomes

Healthcare providers need only adopt (purchase) an ARRA-certified EHR to meet the Meaningful Use requirement of using an ARRA-certified EHR in the first year of participation in the Medicaid Meaningful Use funding program. There is no requirement to demonstrate Meaningful Use in the first year, and no EHR reporting is required. Eligible providers who have already adopted, implemented or upgraded to an ARRA-certified EHR would also receive a first year payment.

In addition to innovative, ARRA-certified EHR solutions, Netsmart also provides educational support, including Web seminars, white papers, presentations, online tools and strategic plan development support, to help organizations learn more about Meaningful Use, determine the amount of incentive dollars they might be eligible to receive, and what process changes are involved in order to apply for and receive funds.

Register today for Netsmart's live, no-charge, 60-minute Web seminar, "I Know About Meaningful Use Incentive Funding, But How Do I Actually Apply?" This informative event, scheduled for Wednesday, December 14 at 11:00 a.m. ET, is conducted by Connie Patterson, Netsmart certification manager. Connie will provide a step-by-step narration and graphical depiction of the process for providers to apply for ARRA Medicare and Medicaid Meaningful Use EHR incentive funds. If you are unable to attend, visit www.ntst.com/meaningfuluse for several recorded Web seminars and other information about how to qualify and apply for incentive funds.

About Netsmart Technologies
Netsmart Technologies helps health and human services organizations transform care through the collaborative, coordinated management and exchange of clinical data across the care spectrum and through effective practice management that improves revenue cycle management. More than 18,000 client organizations, including 350,000 care providers and more than 40 state systems, use Netsmart products to help improve the quality of life for tens of millions of people each year. Netsmart clients include mental health and substance use treatment agencies, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, public health departments, social services and child and family health agencies, vital records offices, and managed care organizations. Netsmart's products are full-featured information systems that operate on a variety of operating systems, hardware platforms, and mobile devices, and offer unlimited scalability.

Netsmart provides the solutions and expertise that help its clients meet all the criteria for Meaningful Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Building upon Netsmart's Complete ARRA-Certified EHRs, Netsmart clients can also create a complete connected care environment encompassing e-prescribing and order entry, sharing clinical information and lab results, and using Web portals to provide secure and private consumer access to care information.

For information about Netsmart's full range of solutions for health and human services organizations, visit www.ntst.com or call 1-800-472-5509. Also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and visit us on YouTube.

Netsmart's Avatar® 2011, CMHC/MIS 4.2 and Insight 7.1 are 2011/2012 compliant and have been certified by the Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

Netsmart's TIER® v7.0, is 2011/2012 compliant (CC-1112-29620-1) and has been certified as a Complete EHR by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable Eligible Provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Avatar and TIER are registered trademarks.

Avatar and TIER are registered trademarks.

Insight is a trademark of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE Netsmart

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