The New Jersey Department of Health https://www.nj.gov/health and the NJ Department of Human Services are providing $6 million in funding to help behavioral health providers implement EHRs in their facilities to connect to other healthcare providers through the New Jersey Health Information Network.
New Jersey’s “Substance Use Disorder Promoting Interoperability Program” (SUD PIP) is providing better coordination among substance use disorder providers and others in the healthcare system by increasing access to EHRs to address the opioid crisis.
Currently, SUD providers do not have adequate EHR systems. About 60 percent of SUD providers in New Jersey surveyed by the New Jersey Association of Mental Health & Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) https://www.njamhaa.org in a study, report that new platforms or upgrades are required.
Implementing EHR technology not only enables SUD providers to efficiently capture and store data in a structured format plus insure that the proper privacy and security processes are in place. The use of EHRs improve the coordination between SUD providers and physical health providers since individuals with SUD may also have physical health illness.
Due to limitations in federal statutes, addiction providers have generally not been able to participate in the federal “Promoting Interoperability Program” or meaningful use incentive programs. With the new funding, the goal is to support the adoption of EHRs which will promote interoperability with 120 providers.
Under the direction of the Department of Health in close collaboration with the Department of Human Services, and the New Jersey Innovations Institute https://njii.com, the groups will lead the project management and implementation of this project in partnership with NJAMHAA.