kbhbeck wrote on Saturday, August 17, 2013:
I’m looking at using OpenEMR in a private mental health counseling clinic, but I have noticed some problems that make it a challenge for non-physicians to use.
For example, the superbill has a signature line that specifies “Physician.” However, the superbills I need to print will not be signed by a physician but by a mental health provider (e.g. counselor, marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, psychologist, nurse practitioner, etc.). Thus, the signature line cannot include the word “Physician” since signing such a line would potentially indicate that the provider is claiming to be a physician (which is illegal). To remedy this, I manually changed the superbill document to use the word “Provider” rather than “Physician.” However, finding the document was very time consuming, and I know many mental health clinicians who have no knowledge of how to find that document let alone change it. Thus, it would be beneficial for non-tech savvy users if this change was made in upcoming versions of the program.
Modifying the program for use with mental health and other non-medical health offices may require simple changes such as this or the inclusion of additional modules (e.g. DSM templates, genograms, ecomaps, etc.).
I have been searching for information on the application of OpenEMR in mental health clinics and have found very little. I was wondering if there were any plans on making OpenEMR more mental-health-friendly. Is there?
The mental health field is an ideal target demographic for the program since many providers have extremely limited budgets but still need an EMR/EHR program that satisfies legal and insurance needs while also providing practice management.
Thanks!