Choosing an EMR or EHR for your opioid treatment program (OTP) - whether that’s a suboxone clinic or a methadone clinic - can be very frustrating. There are precious few EHRs that are designed to handle the unique workflows that happen at scale every day at OTPs. Most OTPs are using horribly outdated and badly designed EHRs that irritate clinicians and contribute to underperforming revenue cycles. 

Today, we’ll look at what OTP clinics like yours should look for - as well as what they should avoid! - when shopping for their next EHR.

Here’s What You DON’T Want in Your Next OTP EMR: Frustration, Inefficiency and Chaos

Some of the biggest complaints about EMRs we hear from OTP customers include: 

• Scattered and chaotic drug test results 

• Clunky, time-consuming medication management workflows

• Confusing medication inventory 

• Inefficient prescribing workflows

• Piecemeal intake workflows  

• Redundant group notes workflows 

We encounter these issues again and again in conversation with OTPs around the country.  When choosing a decent EMR for your OTP, you should never settle for a new EHR that will recreate the problems your current EHR brings to the table. Unfortunately, many EHRs that target the OTP market do recreate and sometimes even exacerbate these problems. 

Your staff, patients and shareholders deserve better. 

Make Your Next OTP EHR Cloud-Based and Secure 

Do you want your clinicians chained to their desks, unable to provide excellent, flexible patient care anywhere, any time? 

The answer is no. No, you don’t. 

Cloud-based EHRs allow your counselors to concurrently document all treatment encounters - including those group counseling sessions that tend to happen in group rooms without desktop computers. Unlike traditional EHRs, cloud-based solutions allow your staff and your patients to access clinical records, insurance information, medication management workflows, drug test results, treatment plans and more from their phones anywhere, anytime.

The best part? At Behave Health, that cloud-based convenience also meets the most stringent security requirements. Our all-in-one EHR is fully HIPAA compliant to boot.  

Drug Testing for OTPs, Methadone, and Suboxone Clinics Done Right 

Drug testing, especially urinalysis, tends to be a big component of the day-to-day clinical workflows at opioid treatment programs. Test results need to be rapid and well organized in order to provide meaningful data on patient progress. Unfortunately, in too many clinics, drug test results are still stacked in large piles of literal paper, typically unseen and ignored by counselors until their next “filing day” occurs. Not only is this system inefficient and clinically unsound, it can be dangerous to ignore drug test results in the context of opioid treatment and medication assisted treatment

At Behave Health, we’ve solved this common issue by making it easy for everyone on your clinical team to check drug test results for each patient. Our point-of-care results are captured automatically for each patient, eliminating the need for ancient filing systems and clinical guesswork. 

EHR Medication Management is a BIG Deal for OTPs, Methadone Clinics and Suboxone Clinics

The way your EHR handles med pass workflows can make or break your OTP. A strong OTP EHR should allow your medication technicians to complete the med pass process in as few clicks as possible, all the while maintaining the utmost dosage precision and medication accountability. 

At Behave Health, we take the “seven rights” - the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right time, the right route, the right reason and the right documentation - very seriously when considering med pass workflow design. Our medication management system ensures that your technicians will execute med passes with exacting efficiency, all the while maintaining thorough clinical documentation of each dose.

Preventing Medication Inventory Issues Begins With Your OTP, Methadone Clinic or Suboxone Clinic EHR

There is no reason why, in 2023, your EHR should not automatically update medication inventory at your OTP  in real time. 

At Behave Health, we ensure that every med pass affects an automatic accounting of your clinics’ medication inventory. Every dose is recorded and aggregated in a master tally as part of the med pass workflow. There’s no room for error, waste, fraud, or abuse with our simple, straight-forward system. Regardless of whether you’re dispensing methadone, Suboxone, Zubsolv, Subutex, Vivitrol or generic buprenorphine and/or naloxone, all medication is always accounted for. 

Clinical Documentation at Your OTP, Methadone Clinic or Suboxone Clinic Should be Easy 

Ease and efficiency of clinical documentation is another key feature to look for in an OTP EMR. This level of care generates a large volume of clinical encounters and each one needs to be documented. That means your staff spend a lot of valuable time in clinical charting. This process should be streamlined wherever possible. 

At Behave Health, we’ve designed our EHR to process every type of clinical documentation you’ll encounter at an OTP with ease. From electronic prescribing, to nursing notes, to physician’s orders, medical assessments, clinical assessments, treatment planning, progress reviews, group notes, clinical scheduling to clinical notes, let our EHR handle it all.  

Struggling With Choosing an EMR for Your Suboxone Clinic? We’re Here to Help.

Behave Health is committed to making it easier - and more profitable - to operate evidence-based, results-focused addiction treatment centers.

Our all-in-one app puts clinical, administration, staff, admissions, alumni, residents, treatment plans, billing, insurance authorizations and more - all at your fingertips.

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.

Need help with certification? Behave Health can also help direct you to the right resources for help with Licensing or Accreditation by either The Joint Commission or CARF. Mention to your product specialist that you’re interested in this service after you start your free trial!