by Rachna Bagdi on February 11, 2025
In the U.S. healthcare system, specialty areas have historically remained siloed, with providers often functioning in near isolation from one another. This is especially true for physical and mental health. But recently, providers and clients alike have been advocating for a more coordinated, integrated system in which individuals can move smoothly from one specialty to the next as needed.
After all, our physical health is intimately linked to our mental health — and vice versa. Treating one often requires specialists to treat the other. It’s a reality that has led to models like the certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC), a system designed to facilitate the care coordination clients need.
As behavioral, physical, and social health needs become increasingly entwined, clinics require technologies to help make streamlined care coordination possible. An advanced electronic health record (EHR) can offer the infrastructure needed for an effective, coordinated system of care.
The Complexities of Modern Care Needs
Care coordination has always been important to client outcomes. But recent shifts within the healthcare ecosystem mean that collaboration across specialties is more important than ever.
Consider the widespread and growing demand for mental health care. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports a 13% increase in behavioral health disorders over the past decade, while the American Psychological Association notes that 84% of providers have seen an increase in anxiety disorders and 72% have seen an increase in depression cases since the COVID-19 pandemic started. In 2022, the number of deaths by suicide reached an all-time high, and a staggering 12.8 million people reported thoughts of self-harm, reports Mental Health America.
It’s clear that people need more timely access to primary, emergency, and crisis care, yet nearly half of people in the United States currently live in a mental health shortage area, according to the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM). The pandemic only exacerbated this shortage, with 72% of psychologists with waitlists reporting longer delays than before the pandemic, NIHCM notes.
Unlocking the Relationship Between Physical and Mental Healthcare
The influx of mental and physical health needs in recent years also puts a stronger emphasis on the need for comprehensive and coordinated care. The National Alliance on Mental Health notes that more than 19 million adults experienced co-occurring substance use disorder and mental illness in 2021. And research published in Lancet Psychiatry found that people with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. These high rates of comorbidities require providers to work with each other to treat clients holistically.
That’s especially true when we factor in social determinants of health (SDOH) and health-related social needs (HRSN). As one study found, differences in the way we live our lives, including “access to nutritious food, health care, safe venues for physical activity, and secure, safe, and affordable housing,” significantly impact our mental and physical health.
With rising healthcare needs, increasing rates of comorbidities, and a broader awareness of the complex factors that impact our health, one thing is clear: Care cannot be simply relegated to one office. Instead, clients need and deserve care coordination across behavioral health facilities, physical health care providers, crisis centers, shelters, primary care facilities, and more.
Technology for a Holistic System of Care
Fortunately, research shows that care coordination is not only possible but also highly effective — when clinics have the right technological infrastructure.
A recent study found that technology-enabled care coordination reduced:
- suicide rates and hospitalizations due to self-harm by nearly 7%;
- emergency department visits related to mental health needs by just over 10%; and
- rates of high psychological distress by nearly 2%.
With a robust EHR, like Core Solutions’ Cx360 platform, behavioral health providers can effectively and efficiently coordinate with care teams across specialties and facilities. The Cx360 platform offers comprehensive capabilities that enhance coordination. Let's look at a few of these capabilities more closely.
Collaboration Tools
Providers and their partners gain access to a secure, centralized solution for coordinating care. Providers can set notification alerts for urgent messages or send communications to participating partners via text, email, or phone directly from a fully encrypted collaboration solution.
Providers across the care continuum can also use the platform as a secure tool for sharing data, mental health notes, or treatment plans, ensuring everyone is up to date on a client’s progress. When everyone is on the same page, clients don’t have to repeat their needs to new providers, track down mental health notes, or get stuck in their transition from one facility to the next — barriers that often cause clients to drop out of care.
Scheduling Capabilities
Coordinating schedules across providers can be a logistical headache for both clinics and clients. The Cx360 platform enables providers to set transparent schedules using custom filters, while clients can seamlessly set appointments via the EHR’s portal. The enterprise-wide scheduling system enables different providers to coordinate care according to urgency and need, ultimately helping ensure each client gets timely, holistic care.
Customizable Workflows
Effective care coordination depends on having the right workflows in place to keep clients progressing through their healing journeys smoothly. Using the Cx360 platform, providers and staff can access evidence-based workflows or design custom workflows with transparent roles, tasks, and deadlines. The platform even automates certain rote tasks to enable faster and better transitions between different providers.
AI and Collaboration Between Healthcare Providers
The platform’s integrated artificial intelligence (AI) tools provide an advanced foundation for effective care coordination. These solutions enable providers to get quick summaries of spoken client sessions, spot hard-to-find symptoms, identify HRSN, and detect anomalies in mental health notes. A combination of AI-backed features and collaboration between healthcare providers supports better client experiences. With more precise diagnostics and faster care delivery, providers can boost their client engagement and spend more time strengthening care coordination.
Support Collaborative Care with the Right Technology
You pride yourself on delivering outstanding mental health care. It’s time to use technology that actively supports your commitment. By incorporating EHR solutions that improve scheduling workflows, foster provider-to-provider communication, and harness the power of AI to streamline tasks, you can effectively close gaps in care journeys and extend unparalleled care coordination to your clients.
The Cx360 platform gives providers collaborative capabilities that are essential for the modern healthcare landscape. Contact us to learn more about the solution — and what it can do for your organization.
