The behavioral health industry is growing thanks to an increased acceptance of mental health treatment. Digital solutions like EMRs are perfectly poised to improve the industry both for patients and clinicians. Alleva is ready to help behavioral health facilities in 2021.

Behavioral Health Market Growth

Behavioral health doesn’t always get the attention it deserves because it focuses on mental health and wellbeing rather than physical health conditions for which we have medicinal treatments. It’s not as simple to treat depression or substance abuse because it requires psychological intervention, whereas heart disease doesn’t. This distinction has made all the conditions surrounding behavioral health—funding, research, authorization—different. 

The problem with this distinction is that behavioral health conditions are often tied to physical health conditions. We are learning that physical health conditions affect a person’s mental health and well-being, and a person’s mental health can lead them to develop physical health conditions. This is why addressing behavioral health is incredibly important, and why providing quality support for treatment centers can improve our society’s well-being.

Public awareness and acceptance of mental health treatment make behavioral health more accessible, thus increasing the market size. Experts estimate the behavioral health market will be worth around $240 billion by 2026. Due to the amount of money being poured into the industry, many companies will come and go. Only the ones that provide quality care and support will stay relevant. 

Improving Behavioral Health Outcomes

But not everything is about money. Because we are talking about behavioral health, the most important aspect of this growth is: how will this affect patients and clinicians? 

There are specific goals for the behavioral health industry that are directly tied to improving the lives of their patients and making clinicians’ work easier. One of the ways in which the industry is working to make mental health more accessible is through the increased attention toward digital tools and solutions. During the pandemic, a lot of people experienced mental health symptoms that needed immediate attention, but social distancing guidelines prevented them from addressing those concerns by going to a treatment center. Telehealth and other digital tools were imperative during this time of need and will continue to grow as people realize the power these digital solutions have to help treat behavioral health concerns.

One of the best digital tools to help behavioral health management is electronic medical records (EMR). EMRs help improve communication between patients and healthcare providers, increasing the efficacy and productivity of treatment centers. Alleva’s EMR even includes telehealth options through video conferencing, making communication and scheduling even more effortless. At the end of the day, behavioral health management software like EMR helps treatment centers reduce costs related to substance abuse and other behavioral health concerns. 

Challenges for Clinicians

An important part of improving mental health outcomes and increasing the effectiveness of behavioral health is by helping clinicians. The industry can help clinicians by educating them on ways to better measure behavioral health outcomes. Once clinicians understand what they are measuring and how they should define measurement-based care, they’ll be much more prepared to see what that would look like at the level of their treatment center but also at the individual level. 

We must also keep in mind that clinicians are also prone to suffer from distress, especially during a pandemic where many people are in a desperate search for care and treatment. Clinicians are facing more patients, more meetings, more forms. And they’ve seen the struggle first-hand, some of them working from home, dealing with family members who may have been infected with COVID-19, and other stressors that come from balancing work and home life. As the behavioral health market grows, we must do our best to help clinicians with their increased workload. 

One simple solution to help clinicians is to help establish digital tools like EMR in behavioral health facilities. EMRs help reduce paperwork and organize data. Clinicians can easily review information without having to go through mountains of paperwork. EMRs also make scheduling easier, and with virtual appointments, clinicians can see more patients, give them better quality care, and not feel the burnout that comes from juggling many patients in person. Clinicians can easily communicate with patients and share their insights to help keep their patients healthy while avoiding the distress of mental health work during the pandemic. 

Alleva is Ready for 2021

As the behavioral health industry grows during the next few years, digital solutions will be necessary to make the workload manageable. Our friendly EMR helps with scheduling, charts, medication management, and gives you data in easy-to-read formats. And if you ever need to contact a patient, our video conferencing feature lets you hold appointments virtually. 

2021 will be a busy year for behavioral health providers. Let us make it easier. 

If you’d like to learn more, schedule a demo for Alleva and see how we help the helpers.