Many behavioral and mental health providers and addiction treatment professionals understand the value of electronic health records (EHRs). But does your practice also need customer relationship management (CRM) software?
Here is some information to consider:
What is a CRM?
CRM software generally helps an organization collect and organize customer contact information and manage relationships with current and potential customers. The primary aim of CRM is to build and maintain client relationships.
Depending on the software, CRM programs can also help track which team members have been in contact with a customer, what services a customer has purchased, and what products they may be interested in.
A CRM solution developed specifically for healthcare should be able to use different types of data, such as demographics and financial information, to give you a full view of a patient’s habits and activities. This helps you communicate with and retain patients.
What can CRM do for health providers?
Using CRM software can help health providers in a variety of ways.
Collect and organize patient data from multiple sources to create a complete picture of a patient
Help manage marketing campaigns
Measure and report the success of patient marketing and engagement strategies
Use data to personalize communications with patients
Are there federal requirements for health CRM?
The federal government does not currently have requirements specifically for CRM software. However, providers should make sure their CRM solutions adhere to all federal regulations that apply to the provider.
For example, HIPAA rules apply to any provider that transmits any electronic billing information to any health insurance company. Since this applies to most behavioral health providers, any CRM software that providers use must also be HIPAA-compliant.
To meet HIPAA requirements, CRM software should include:
Data encryption, including secure messaging
Audit logs that determine which user accessed which data
Restricting user access only to data which is necessary for them to see
Authorization forms signed by patients
Regular backups
What else should providers keep in mind?
When choosing a CRM solution, it can be helpful to work with a vendor who already provides your EHR software. This may not always be the case, however. If you are choosing a CRM vendor from scratch, there are some other questions you should ask about your practice that can help you choose the best solution for your needs.
What specific problems do you want CRM software to help solve?
How do you intend to use CRM?
What kind of data do you need to track and manage?
Who in your practice will be using CRM the most? Will the solution help them do their job better?
Will the CRM tools easily integrate with your existing software and tools?
What kind of training, customer service, and troubleshooting does the vendor provide?
Does the vendor provide regular updates to their products?
Is the product mobile-friendly?
Can the solution be adapted to changes in your practice’s needs?
Will it help your practice meet both short- and long-term goals?
For an EHR solution that includes CRM tools designed specifically for behavioral health providers, contact BestNotes today.
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