in communities across the United States, Clinical populations exhibiting mental health and/or substance abuse disorders Face substantial challenges in accessing and receiving high-quality and effective behavioral Healthcare services. health information technology (HIT) has been identified as an important component of improving access to behavioral Healthcare in rural communities, yet the existence of A single HIT application flexible enough to perform A wide array of treatment support functions while maintaining security, efficiency and cost effectiveness is lacking. This application is A response to PHS 2015-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR [R41/R42]). The goal of the proposed Phase I activities is the Development of A secure, cloud-based, modular framework and electronic Infrastructure with multilingual capabilities for behavioral Healthcare information management and exchange. The aims of the proposed project are to establish the following: (1) Convene focus group of Clinical administrators and providers from community-based agencies to assess needs for behavioral health information technology and patient information management tools and systems. Focus group discussions will target assessment of products currently utilized in community agencies, including limitations, procedural obstacles and usability shortcomings (i.e., difficulties with Clinical staff buy-in and Adoption), as well as desired enhancements and improvements to facilitate more seamless integration across essential functionalities underlying high-quality behavioral health services and patient care. Our team will provide iterative Feedback on these factors throughout the project; (2) Based on stakeholder Feedback obtained during focus group discussions, develop the initial core Infrastructure of the secure patient information exchange (SPInE) and framework to function as A cloud-based electronic behavioral health Data repository, processing, and management system that is accessible and tailored for behavioral health care and substance abuse treatment providers; (3) Utilize focus-group stakeholders to assess the functionality of the SPInE Data processing system and user interface modules. Feedback will be obtained regarding (A) accurate authentication and Authorization of users in different Role Categories (i.e. Clinical Administrator, supervisor, therapist), (b) proper organization and synchronization of patient Data in the SPInE repository and associated relational Databases, (c) correct production and output of health information tables and reports based on authorized user queries, and (d) likelihood of Clinical staff buy-in, Adoption, and utilization.
Public Health Relevance Statement: Public Health Relevance: The purpose of the proposed Phase I STTR project is to develop the inner workings of A secure patient information exchange (SPInE) and module attachment framework to function as A cloud-based electronic behavioral health Data repository, processing, and management system that is accessible and tailored for behavioral Healthcare providers. Once fully developed, the SPInE will enable behavioral health providers to utilize information technology in unprecedented ways to improve service accessibility and service quality.
