Our recent posts have highlighted the bottom-line benefits of sound financial software, including its ability to minimize claims denials and to facilitate revenue cycle management. Substance use and mental health treatment organizations also shouldn’t lose sight of another major advantage to having the right finance software: saving time for employees who continue to face growing responsibilities in their jobs.
Addiction and mental health treatment organizations nationwide are seeing unprecedented demand for services in their communities. Many clinicians are working in regions that are officially designated as health professional shortage areas. At the same time, they have been admitting a patient population with increasingly complex needs, and are being asked to address patient concerns well beyond symptom control alone.
In the substance use treatment field, for example, program staff are increasingly being asked to blend traditional treatment approaches with medication treatments, all while also addressing patient social concerns around safe housing, secure employment and other basic needs. Many organizations that once were solely focused on substance use treatment are now seeing the benefit of integrating mental health care directly into their operation. In this environment, any tools that can make staff members’ everyday processes simpler become valued currency for employers seeking the best talent.
The right billing software can dramatically streamline the paperwork-related tasks that frustrate staff members who are involved in patient care. More accessible data means less time spent on unproductive functions that take clinicians’ focus away from what they do best. Access to accurate and secure information leads to more efficient workflows and timelier payment for services. Automating routine tasks and minimizing or eliminating paperwork become essential in today’s fast-changing environment.
The proper training in these streamlined processes also can make a huge difference for organizational success. A 2019 workforce survey sponsored by the Florida Department of Children and Families’ Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health identified workforce training as a pivotal contributor to job satisfaction. The survey found that greater frequency of participation in relevant trainings was associated with higher job satisfaction, while barriers to training in an organization were called a major driver of low satisfaction. This likely has become an even more important factor since the survey was conducted, given the realities of a dynamic labor market and soaring demand for services since the start of the pandemic.
We at Sigmund Software have designed a solution that can help your organization standardize processes that will both enhance communication with payers and simplify the work of staff. Our AURA solution offers the tools that will help your employees document their work faster and track patient data more effectively, all leading to higher-quality care for patients and families.
Behavioral health provider organizations can ill afford to take their staff’s commitment for granted in these tumultuous times. When members of your team are given the resources to help them fulfill the mission of caring that drove them to the profession, everyone benefits. Let us partner with your organization to help your staff be its most productive.