Washington, D.C. & Raleigh, NC, June 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OpenBeds, provider of a technology platform that identifies, unifies and tracks behavioral health resources to facilitate rapid digital treatment referrals, today announced that it has partnered with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to enable immediate access to an enhanced version of the OpenBeds' technology platform, specifically designed to track the critical treatment and equipment resources needed to fight the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are in unprecedented times right now. We recognize the incredibly-challenging task of locating critical beds or units, personnel and vital medical equipment such as ventilators, to treat COVID-19 patients,” said Nishi Rawat, M.D., Co-founder of OpenBeds and Senior Vice President of Appriss Health. “Because of the increasing need for these critical resources, we have modified our existing behavioral health platform to track these resources across the nation. Now, with the OpenBeds Critical Resource Tracker, clinicians and state department health administrators can track this availability in real-time. Having access to this information and insights will be a powerful tool in the fight against COVID-19, and improving the careful management, care, and treatment for those who need it most.”
With the United States now experiencing the most COVID-19 deaths, it is essential that all available critical resources are being used to treat those affected and in need of care. As providers actively seek treatment for their patients, a reliable, real-time resource is critical. Physicians and nurses should not have to choose between who receives care, because there are not enough ventilators to sustain patients. Knowing where the availability is will help clinicians treat more people.
“The use of the OpenBeds Critical Resource Tracker will enable us to take the responsibility to monitor inventory and marshal resources to address needs across hospitals within our state. By anticipating COVID-19 outbreaks, critical resources can be sent to potential hot spots so that we can respond proactively rather than reactively to a critical need within a hospital,” said Charles Carter, COO Tech & Ops NCDHHS. “Our goal is to improve response time to critical hospital needs by streamlining the resource tracking process to reduce human error and the time-consuming burden of accessing life-saving information.”
Along with a customizable dashboard that provides transparency and availability of services and equipment, the OpenBeds platform helps hospitals across North Carolina comply with federal and state reporting requirements.
“With this new resource, it is our hope that more patients will be able to get to the treatment they need, to overcome this virus,” Dr. Rawat continued. “We’re honored to do our small part in making access to quality care easier for all.”
The OpenBeds Critical Resource Tracker is built upon the foundation of the existing OpenBeds platform, which is currently helping several states pool their behavioral health resources and create trusted networks to improve access to treatment. The system also provides critical information to states, counties and health systems to identify gaps in care delivery and better manage resources and communication. Recently, the company launched www.treatmentconnection.com, a free online portal which enables those seeking behavioral health treatment for themselves or others, to anonymously search for nearby providers, evaluate the type of care needed, and submit confidential online referral inquiries to appropriate treatment providers vetted by the state.
About OpenBeds
OpenBeds, an Appriss (www.apprisshealth.com) company, offers a cloud-based platform that replaces inefficient and less effective manual search, communication and reporting functions, facilitates rapid referrals, and fosters collaboration and coordination among medical and mental health providers, social services, and substance use programs. The OpenBeds platform accomplishes this by providing real-time treatment facility and program availability, digital referrals, two-way digital provider communication, data aggregation and analytics, and clinical decision support resources. OpenBeds’ trusted and comprehensive treatment access and referral network is used to improve the timeliness of quality care.
All OpenBeds statewide networks have the ability to deploy Treatment Connection (www.treatmentconnection.com). Treatment Connection is an online portal that enables those seeking mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for themselves or others to anonymously search for nearby providers, evaluate the type of care needed, and submit confidential online referral inquiries to appropriate treatment providers vetted by the state. Treatment Connection is now live in Indiana, Alaska and Delaware.
For more information, please visit www.openbeds.net and/or www.treatmentconnection.com.