CMHC/MIS Electronic Health Record Solution from Netsmart Technologies Attains Complete ARRA Certification

GREAT RIVER, N.Y., June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Netsmart Technologies, Inc. (www.ntst.com), a leading provider of software and services for health and human services organizations, today announced that its CMHC/MIS 4.2 electronic health record (EHR) software for behavioral health provider organizations has achieved 100 percent ONC-ATCB ARRA Ambulatory Certification.

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"We are fully committed to providing clients of each of our enterprise platforms a direct, complete and comprehensive path to qualify for ARRA Meaningful Use funding," said Michael Valentine, chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. "Meaningful Use can provide invaluable financial resources to help our clients better serve their consumers. That's why we were a strong advocate for the program's establishment and are at the forefront of advocacy to provide behavioral health with the same full access to incentive funds as already provided to other healthcare entities."

CMHC/MIS 4.2 software is now designated as a Complete EHR on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Certified Health IT Product List. Netsmart was the first behavioral healthcare software provider to offer a Complete ARRA-certified EHR when it achieved Ambulatory and Inpatient certification for its Avatar® 2011 enterprise software in December 2010. In addition, Netsmart's Insight™ 7.0 public health solution achieved ARRA Modular Certification earlier this year and is expected to attain 100 percent ONC-ATCB ARRA Ambulatory Certification in the third quarter of 2011.

Testing was conducted under Drummond Group's Electronic Health Records ONC-ATCB program. Drummond Group, Inc., is an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) named by the Office of the National Coordinator to provide Meaningful Use certification for EHR systems and applications.

"We are pleased with Netsmart's commitment to the CMHC/MIS solution and their dedication to pursuing complete ARRA certification," said Dawn Stiles, president of Spurwink Services, a Maine-based, nationally accredited non-profit organization providing mental health, educational and residential services for children, adolescents, adults and families. "With the frequent state and federal changes that behavioral healthcare agencies must adapt to, we have peace of mind that our software is fully certified and meets the requirements for Meaningful Use incentive funds."

Behavioral and public health organizations are currently eligible for Medicaid or Medicare Meaningful Use funds based on the number of Eligible Professionals (EPs), such as physicians and nurse practitioners, in their organization, assuming the organization meets criteria for Meaningful Use of a certified EHR and the professionals assign their incentives to the organization. The total benefit for Medicaid Eligible Professionals is $63,750 per EP over a six-year period – a significant financial incentive for organizations.

In the first year of participation in the Meaningful Use funding program, healthcare providers need only adopt (purchase) an ARRA-certified EHR to meet the Meaningful Use requirement of using an ARRA-certified EHR. 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 the Meaningful Use monetary incentives, use of EHR technology can improve quality of care, advance patient safety, increase customer satisfaction and enhance office efficiency.

Netsmart is also working with national mental health associations to support passage of Senate Bill 539, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and the introduction of a similar bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. This corrective legislation would extend eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare Meaningful Use incentive funds to behavioral health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment professionals and facilities not currently included as eligible for Meaningful Use funds. For more information about this important corrective legislation, visit www.ntst.com/legislation.

To learn more about how Netsmart can help behavioral health and public health organizations qualify for Meaningful Use incentives, visit www.ntst.com/meaningfuluse.  

About Netsmart Technologies

Netsmart Technologies is an established, leading supplier of software-as-a service (SaaS) and internally-installed software solutions for health and human services providers. 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 millions of people each year.

Netsmart clients include mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, psychiatric hospitals, private and group mental health practices, public health departments, 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 clients both meet all the criteria for Meaningful Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and avoid the costly, time-consuming process of integrating solutions from multiple vendors.

Building upon the complete EHR, Netsmart clients can also create a complete connected care environment using Netsmart OrderConnect™ for e-prescribing and order entry, Netsmart CareConnect™ to share clinical information and lab results, and the Netsmart ConsumerConnect™ Web portal to provide secure and private consumer access to care information.

For information about Netsmart Technologies' full range of solutions for health and human services organizations, visit www.ntst.com or call 1-800-472-5509.

Avatar 2011, CMHC/MIS 4.2 and Insight 7.0 EHR Module 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.

Avatar is a registered trademark of Netsmart Technologies, Inc

Insight, Netsmart OrderConnect, Netsmart CareConnect and Netsmart ConsumerConnect are trademarks of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

SOURCE Netsmart Technologies, Inc.