Walla Walla County Department of Human Services Selects Netsmart Technologies for Electronic Health Record Implementation

GREAT RIVER, N.Y., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netsmart Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for health and human services organizations, today announced an agreement with the Walla Walla (Wash.) County Department of Human Services to implement Netsmart's Avatar™ and Connect product suites.

Walla Walla selected Netsmart's Avatar behavioral health software suite as its electronic health record (EHR) to manage key clinical, financial and management processes, transitioning from Netsmart's CMHC/MIS software. In making the transition, Walla Walla took advantage of Netsmart programs designed to help organizations transition between software platforms within the Netsmart family of software solutions that best meet their needs and requirements.

In addition, the Walla Walla agency will utilize the Netsmart ConsumerConnect™ Web portal to provide clients and their families access to information about their care and the ability to communicate with their care team in a secure online environment. Use of the Web portal will help Walla Walla meet the key Meaningful Use criteria of providing consumers access to their health information, which is required to receive incentives and avoid penalties under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Netsmart serves 39 behavioral healthcare organizations in the State of Washington.

"As we look to expand our programs and services, we're confident Netsmart can provide us with the range of solutions we need now and in the future," said Anne Higgins, chief financial/contracts officer for the Walla Walla County Department of Human Services. "Our implementation of Avatar software marks the beginning of a move to a fully integrated EHR that we expect to deliver not only process efficiencies and cost savings, but also improvements in the quality, accessibility and outcomes of care for our consumers."

Netsmart's Avatar software will enable Walla Walla to integrate its electronic clinical and financial records, utilize electronic prescribing capabilities, speed and enhance reporting, and ensure state and federal compliance. It will also help the agency meet the criteria for the "meaningful use" of an EHR and qualify for related Medicaid and Medicare incentive funding.

"We're pleased to offer our customers a variety of options that help them effectively serve their consumers, whether that involves staying with their current Netsmart product or moving to other platforms within the Netsmart family of solutions," said James L. Conway, chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. "We're pleased to continue our relationship with the Walla Walla County Department of Human Services within the Netsmart customer community, and look forward to providing them with expanded services and solution offerings."

About Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

Netsmart Technologies is an established, leading supplier of enterprise software and software as a service (SaaS) solutions for health and human services providers. More than 18,000 customer organizations, including 350,000 care providers and nearly 40 state systems, use Netsmart products to help improve the quality of life for millions of people each year.

Netsmart customers 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's Connected Care initiative allows behavioral and public healthcare providers to share clinical data electronically within their internal processes, externally with other providers, and with consumers via a Web-based portal, enabling high quality, consumer-directed care.

Netsmart provides expertise and solutions that help its customers meet the evolving definition of "meaningful use" under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. These include experience in electronic health record certification, the InfoScriber® e-prescribing service, the Netsmart CareConnect™ service that enables the sharing of clinical information through health information exchanges, the Netsmart ConsumerConnect™ Web portal to provide consumer access to their care information, and a flexible platform to capture and share outcomes data.

For information about Netsmart Technologies' full range of solutions for health and human services organizations, visit www.ntst.com or call 1-800-421-7503, Option 6.

InfoScriber is a registered trademark of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

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

SOURCE Netsmart Technologies, Inc.