Jefferson County Public Health Service in New York Implements Netsmart To Connect Post-Acute and Home Health to Community

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Netsmart
announced a new partnership with the Jefferson
County, New York Public Health Service (JCPHS)
in northern New York to improve communication between area home health
and long-term care providers and HealtheConnections;
central New York’s Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO).
Netsmart is an innovative healthcare technology provider that provides
electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange, data
analytics, mobile clinical and consumer engagement solutions for
behavioral health, social services and post-acute communities.

While Jefferson County’s Public Health Service serves a variety of
health provider communities, a large portion addresses certified home
health and long-term care. The county also supports nearby Fort Drum,
making them well situated for integrating services that meet the needs
for both active military and civilian populations.

Tracking an individual through the care continuum via integrated
technology that seamlessly shares relevant information with the care
team is a vital component in effectively and efficiently treating the
whole person. Netsmart technology provides a platform for Jefferson
County, home health and long-term care providers to securely share
health information with other community providers through
HealtheConnections to ensure smooth transitions between care settings.

“We have a team that provides amazing care to our communities, but it’s
a unique challenge to provide high-quality care for someone when you
only have half of the information,” said Ginger Hall, Jefferson County
of NY Director of Public Health. “This new technology provides a perfect
way to obtain important patient information without providers having to
call or fax and then wait for the information. It’s the most
standardized, secure and efficient way for patient data to be shared.”

Making sure that communication and information sharing occurs seamlessly
is a key factor for JCPHS to integrate with HealtheConnections. Being
able to stay as up-to-date as possible on a patient’s status is key for
effective care coordination, particularly when providing care in a home
setting. For example, alert notifications notify JCPHS when significant
patient activity occurs, such as when they are admitted and discharged
from the emergency department. Access to all of this information is
vital for JCPHS to be able to make effective decisions when managing a
patient’s care plan.

“We know how valuable patient information from other providers can be
when making care decisions,” said Hall. “We want to get to a point where
we’re fluently sharing our information. Delivery system reform and other
legislation demand that we’re investing in the right technology to
ensure we’re communicating and sharing information effectively. We
strongly believe that by connecting Netsmart with HealtheConnections our
access to data will positively improve outcomes for the communities and
individuals we serve in the post-acute care sector.”

The first phase of integrating Netsmart into JCPHS’s home health
operations includes creating a seamless workflow to send patient
information from the point of care to HealtheConnections. This creates a
longitudinal view for an individual’s history so care providers can have
full access to the entire picture of care history.

“Seamless, secure communication and data sharing is part of the
foundation in integrating care between providers and communities,” said
Netsmart Vice-President and General Manager AJ Peterson, “We’re excited
to work alongside Jefferson County to provide the right tools so
clinicians and other care providers in the county can have a complete
view to be able to treat individuals in the community with a truly
holistic approach.”

JCPHS understands that the connecting with other providers is vital to
provide whole person care in all settings, including home health and
long-term care. The county’s efforts toward advancing its digital
connections with HealtheConnections highlights its commitment to
improving the health of its residents in both the county and surrounding
region.

About Jefferson County, New York Public Health Service

The Jefferson County Public Health Service (JCPHS) provides a
comprehensive array of community health care and related services in
accordance with NYS Public Health Law and Codes, Rules, and Regulations.
The department is overseen by the Director of Public Health who is
appointed by the Jefferson County Board of Legislators. Programs
include: Health Planning, Health Promotion Programs, Communicable
Disease Reporting and Control, Home Health Care, Preventive Nursing
Programs, Rabies Control · Public Health Emergency Preparedness,
Physically Handicapped Children’s Program, Children with Special Health
Care Needs, Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Immunization Clinic, STD/HIV
Clinic, Travel Health Services, Emergency Medical Services, Medical
Examiner.

About Netsmart

Netsmart is an innovative healthcare technology provider that provides
electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange, data
analytics, mobile clinical and consumer engagement solutions for
behavioral health, social services and post-acute communities. Our
common platform, the CareFabric®,
integrates seamlessly with the industry’s first-of-its-kind population
management platform that uniquely focuses on community-based providers
and supports transitions of care, bundles and value-based payment models.

We are passionate about integrating care across all aspects of a
community, which is why the Netsmart ecosystem provides more than an EHR
by offering the largest national HIE in the post-acute community to
connect post-acute, social services and behavioral health organizations
with their health systems and community provider partners.

Our more than 560,000 users in more than 25,000 organizations across the
U.S. work together with our more than 1,350 Netsmart associates to
connect communities and information across the care spectrum. Our
technology ensures comprehensive data flows between behavioral
health; addiction
treatment; intellectual
and developmental disabilities; child
and family services; public
health; long-term/post-acute
care; home
health; hospice;
palliative
care; private
duty and vital
records, to ensure providers have consistent and reliable
information at their fingertips when it is needed.

The only thing constant in healthcare is change. Netsmart brings
significant expertise working with behavioral health, social services
and post-acute care communities, as well as the complex state and
federal billing requirements unique to these communities. More
importantly, we understand the importance of clinical adoption; training
and support; regulatory compliance; and the need to connect to the rest
of healthcare.

Our solutions and services are built with these challenges in mind and
are designed to solve them so our clients can focus on what they do
best: provide quality care to their communities. Our clients are strong
advocates for those who don’t always have a voice, which is why Netsmart
is dedicated to leading change within the industry by breaking down
barriers to provide a person-centric and holistic view of each
individual.

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, social
services and post-acute organizations to learn from each other and share
their causes and stories.

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