NNews-July-2023

36 July 2023 NextStep Solutions’ treatment planning wizard enables providers to develop outcomes-based care plans that are driven by their clinical workflow. They can also create their own outcome models or modify an existing model. PARTNERSHIP FOSTERS HOLISTIC CARE AND ENSURES PATIENTS’ PRIVACY A few years ago, NextStep Solutions established a partnership with Connexin Software, which operates under the name Office Practicum and provides pediatric-specific health information technology solutions. “We’ve always support integrated care and with Office Practicum/Connexin, we are learning a lot and we’re able to evolve this even more. Primary care providers’ needs are different than behavioral healthcare providers’, and we’ve been able to accommodate them in an integrated care environment,” Dr. Hanna said. “We brought together the capabilities of Office Practicum and NextStep Solutions to foster care for the whole person. The pediatric/primary EHR and the behavioral health EHR are separate and maintain privacy of patients’ information. Tracking and other client information are shared between these realms,” said Dan Feiten, MD, a pediatrician and Medical Director of Office Practicum. “We’re farther along with this, compared to other EHRs,” he noted. For example, permissions can be set to ensure that certain types of providers are able to see only the information they need and are authorized to view. NextStep Solutions’ EHR system is the first, if not the only one certified for pediatrics under the 21st Century Cures Act, according to Buck. “This allows us to not interfere with the release of EHR rules regarding information blocking and it creates more opportunities to serve populations that are currently underserved.” This EHR system is also certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The ASAM certification means that NextStep Solutions can help substance use treatment providers create electronic versions of assessments using a form builder. To learn more about NextStep Solutions’ EHR system, visit http://nextstepsolutionsinc.com/.