Behavioral health
Health information technology can help to improve behavioral health care and can further enable care coordination and integration, increase information sharing, and support prevention, treatment, and recovery activities. Access to and the exchange and use of behavioral health information as part of routine care can help to improve continuity in care services and support efforts toward achieving an interoperable healthcare system across the care continuum.
Why Focus Health IT on Behavioral Health
Integration of care enabled by health IT has great potential to improve health outcomes for individuals with behavioral health problems. The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) convened behavioral health stakeholders for a roundtable focused on using health IT to integrate behavioral health and primary care.
Behavioral health problems include substance abuse or misuse, alcohol and drug addiction, serious psychological distress, suicide, and mental and substance use disorders. An estimated 26% of Americans age 18 and older are living with a mental health disorder in any given year. Data from 2022 showed 36.2% of adults between the ages of 18-25 had the highest prevalence of Any Mental Illness (AMI), 29.4% for those aged 26-49, and 13.9% of those aged 50 and older.
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Using Data to Improve Behavioral Health Across the Care Continuum
LEAP in Health IT Project
Health information exchange can support behavioral health care by improving access to health information and enabling communication among care teams and individuals. Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is working on adapting an open-source SMART on Fast Health Interoperability Resources® (FHIR®) application based on the HL7® Multiple Chronic Condition (MCC) care plan effort for three behavioral health use cases and pilot the application in stand-alone behavioral health clinics with challenges in exchanging health information.
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SAMHSA Partnership
ASTP/ONC’s behavioral health initiatives advance the integration of health IT in behavioral health care through strategic collaborations. Learn more about these efforts, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Behavioral Health IT Initiative.
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USCDI+ Behavioral Health
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and ASTP/ONC worked together to create the draft USCDI+ Behavioral Health (USCDI+ BH) to address core data and interoperability needs beyond the scope of USCDI. USCDI+ BH is intended to capture the data needs of behavioral health and improve the availability and consistency of data necessary to support behavioral health transactions, use cases, and programs.
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Behavioral Health and Physical Health Integration
Health IT supports the bi-directional communication between primary care and behavioral health providers, and is a key enabler of integration. Efforts to integrate care across primary and behavioral healthcare settings often rely on health IT to support communication, collaboration, and coordination across settings.
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Tools and Resources for Providers
Access tailored guidance, playbooks, and educational modules to help behavioral health providers effectively adopt, implement, and optimize health IT for better care coordination and outcomes.
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Patient Access and Privacy
Health IT tools can help support behavioral health providers with navigating federal and state laws protecting the privacy of sensitive patient information. ASTP/ONC and SAMHSA have developed fact sheets to help health information exchange organizations and healthcare providers learn how 42 CFR Part 2 provisions can be used across different environments, including through electronic health information exchange mechanisms and in provider office settings.