After fifteen years in healthcare IT, I’ve learned that true transformation comes from combining technical expertise with deep understanding of clinical needs. As a Cactus Healthcare Resources consultant, I’ve had the privilege of partnering with healthcare organizations to revolutionize their mental health care delivery through innovative Epic implementations.
Discrete Data: The Foundation of Better Patient Care
One of our most significant achievements has been implementing SmartForms, BestPractice Advisories, and Required Documentation to capture discrete data in Epic. Instead of using flowsheets or traditional free-text documentation, these more structured approaches significantly improved how we track and analyze patient care. There are multiple tools for users to ensure they are putting the key discrete information into the system to support care, audits, and analytics. For our high-risk patients, this shift has delivered remarkable results – we’ve seen measurable reductions in suicide rates and faster transitions out of seclusion.
These improvements aren’t just statistics; they represent real lives positively impacted by thoughtful technology implementation. By having discrete documentation and workflows that require it to be filled out, we can help our caregivers ensure they are providing the comprehensive treatment our patients require.
Streamlining Documentation: A Game-Changer for Clinical Teams
In mental health care settings, particularly inpatient psych documentation challenges can overwhelm clinical staff. Through my six-year partnership with a key client, we’ve tackled this head-on by implementing shared flowsheets across departments. While this required intensive coordination during setup, the results have been transformative. We’ve eliminated dual documentation , standardized workflows, and significantly improved compliance reporting. Most importantly, this has given our nurses and mental health clinicians more time to focus on what matters most – patient care.
Building Stronger Care Teams Through Technology
For our most complex cases, I’ve helped implement a sophisticated track system that ensures appropriate care levels and facilitates multidisciplinary collaboration. We’ve established weekly case conferences where specialists from different disciplines contribute to shared documentation and treatment planning. This unified approach has been particularly valuable for long-term admissions, where coordinated care makes a crucial difference in patient outcomes.
Revolutionizing Medication Management
One of our most impactful innovations has been enhancing medication management for court-ordered treatments. Working closely with the Chief of Mental Health, we’ve customized Epic to include specialized medication administration record (MAR) sections and prominent banner alerts in patient storyboards as well as Pill Call Report notifications . These seemingly simple changes have had profound effects on medication compliance and patient care, especially for those with severe conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The Cactus Difference: Partnership in Action
What sets Cactus Healthcare Resources apart is our commitment to long-term partnership. Over my six-plus years with this client, we’ve moved far beyond the typical consultant-client relationship. We’ve become trusted advisors, deeply invested in their success. This sustained engagement has allowed us to continually refine and improve our solutions, ensuring they truly serve the needs of both healthcare providers and their patients.
Looking Forward: The Impact of Meaningful Work
This journey has been more than just implementing technology – it’s been about transforming lives. Every improvement in documentation efficiency, every streamlined workflow, and every enhanced safety measure represents our commitment to better patient care. As a Cactus consultant, I’m proud that our work has made a tangible difference in mental health care delivery.
The success of this project demonstrates what’s possible when healthcare organizations partner with consultants who bring both technical expertise and a deep commitment to improving patient care. It’s a testament to the value that Cactus Healthcare Resources brings to our clients, and it’s why I remain passionate about this work after all these years.
Kelly Schleis
Kelly Schleis is an Epic expert with over 15 years of experience driving change for clinicians and healthcare systems.