Why Behavioral Health EHR is Crucial: Insights from 2024 Executive Report

1. EXECUTIVE 2024 Executive Perspectives in Behavioral Health Industry Insights on Operations, Technology & Financial Sustainability

2. Introduction EXECUTIVE Financial sustainability is key to success for behavioral health organizations. However, staffing challenges, difficulty measuring and reporting on outcomes, and complex operations that impede organizational visibility are all challenges that stand in the way of behavioral health leaders looking to improve their financial health. In our complementary reports, we took a deep dive into HR perspectives related to the staffing crisis as well as clinical perspectives related to service delivery and outcomes. In this third and final report in the series, we’ll look at executive perspectives on operational processes, the technology that supports these processes, and the impact these have on financial sustainability. About the data: In May 2024, ContinuumCloud surveyed more than 200 behavioral health leaders on top priorities in the industry, including recruiting and retention, employee engagement, care delivery, patient engagement, operational processes, and the digital tools that are supporting these initiatives. Respondents included leaders from behavioral health organizations across the nation with at least 100 employees, representing mid-market organizations with complex operational dynamics.

3. A 2024 Behavioral Health Snapshot: Where Are We Now? EXECUTIVE 1% What’s working and what’s not at behavioral health organizations? Executives weighed in with their ratings, providing a behavioral health snapshot. How would you rate your organization's: 19% 51% Client/patient engagement efforts 15% 3% 12% 24% 44% Financial sustainability 20% 4% 7% 17% 51% Patient outcomes 16% 4% 2% 14% 10% 55% Recruiting processes 26% 8% 2% Great Good Neutral Bad Terrible I don’t know

4. A 2024 Behavioral Health Snapshot Continued EXECUTIVE How would you rate your organization's: 15% 45% Visibility and reporting capabilities 30% 8% 2% 13% 45% Clinical workflows and processes 26% 7% 9% 12% 46% EHR, HR software, and other digital tools 23% 17% 7% 1% 2% 8% 50% Employee engagement and retention efforts 29% 12% 1% Great Good Neutral Bad Terrible I don’t know

5. EXECUTIVE Takeaways from the Behavioral Health Snapshot 14% 0% The highest percentage of “I don’t know” responses showed up for patient outcomes, which organizations often struggle to measure and gain visibility into. Meanwhile, there were no “I don’t know” responses regarding employee engagement, as something that everyone across job functions and levels feels and is impacted by. 58% 70% Employee engagement had the lowest percentage of positive ratings, highlighting the staffing crisis within behavioral health. This was closely followed by sentiment about digital tools, which was also notably low. While outcomes are difficult to measure, organizations do believe they are making an impact. Patient engagement had the highest percentage of executives providing a positive rating.

6. EXECUTIVE Understanding the Financial Health of the Organization 24% Only 24% of executives strongly agreed that their organization operates in a financially sustainable manner Sitting in the middle of the behavioral health snapshot is financial sustainability. Additionally, only 69% of executives indicated that they agree or strongly agree that their organization is able to operate in a financially sustainable manner. The financial health of the organization is impacted by every other aspect of its operations. Ideally, these elements are operating synergistically, each doing its part to contribute to the organization’s success.

7. EXECUTIVE Zooming in further, behavioral health executives weighed in on how financially sustainable their operations were in a variety of areas. These results show organizational visibility as a strong point, while recruiting and retention challenges remain the greatest threats to financial sustainability. Outcomes reporting is another challenge highlighted here, which is increasing in importance as value-based care becomes more widely adopted. How would you rate your organization's financial sustainability as it relates to: 9% 44% Outcomes reporting 35% 6% 7% 5% 36% Recruiting and retention 34% 12% 11% 3% 13% 51% Organizational visibility 22% 5% 9% 14% Budgeting strategies 45% 22% 9% 10% 16% 39% Labor cost reporting 24% 5% 17% Great Good Neutral Bad Terrible I don’t know

8. EXECUTIVE Leveraging Technology to Support Operational Efficiency In many ways, financial health comes down to the efficiency and effectiveness of the process the organization has in place to deliver on those financial outcomes. Given the complex nature of the behavioral health industry, executives understand the necessity of digital tools to facilitate complex operations and workflows. In fact, 73% of organizations indicated that they are using digital tools to help streamline operations and improve efficiencies. 73% of organizations are using digital tools to streamline operations and improve efficiencies

9. 54% of organizations had a neutral or negative view of the digital tools they are currently utilizing

10. Despite the high utilization of technology at behavioral health organizations, there’s still room for improvement. A surprising percentage of organizations are still relying on manual processes, especially when it comes to onboarding new employees, handling performance reviews, and tracking employee licensures and related credentials. This could be due to a lack of digital tools in place to support these operations or digital tools that don’t adequately support these processes, leaving employees to find manual workarounds. Which of the following processes within your organization are handled manually? 41% Employee onboarding 38% Credential tracking 38% Performance reviews/ appraisals 22% Outcomes metrics

11. EXECUTIVE What challenges is your organization facing that make it important to implement digital tools? Although there are many processes that behavioral health organizations are still handling manually, executives recognize that digital tools can support their mission in a variety of ways. Inefficient or outdated workflows 51% Recruiting and onboarding In particular, updating inefficient workflows and streamlining the recruiting and onboarding process are top of mind as executives explore how to invest in technology that will support their financial sustainability. 40% Weak reporting and analytics 33% Lack of collaboration between teams 31%

12. EXECUTIVE Behavioral health executives see several things at play right now: 75% 1 They recognize the value technology can bring to the organization in a variety of ways. of organizations are growing or expanding services this year They recognize that many processes that are handled manually need to be updated with the right technology. 2 72% They recognize that increased demand requires organizational growth and program expansion – which also necessitates technology to support these growing needs. 3 have already invested in digital tools this year With three-quarters of behavioral health organizations planning for growth or expansion of services this year, the right digital tools to support these goals becomes increasingly important. In the survey, 72% of executives reported that they’ve already invested in digital tools this year and another 59% still plan to invest by the end of this year. 59% are planning to invest in new digital tools by the end of this year

13. EXECUTIVE Bridging the Digital Divide for Better Financial Health In the behavioral health snapshot, we saw a lot of dissatisfaction with the technology and digital tools behavioral health professionals are using, including their EHR and HCM platforms. While there’s value and opportunity in new technology, this dissatisfaction with existing systems indicates a digital divide between the expected outcomes and the reality of those using this technology. This digital divide between expectations and reality can have a variety of causes behind it. First, it’s essential to choose the right technology. There are a wide range of solutions on the market today, and the options can be overwhelming. However, not all of these technology options will offer the right solution for your organizational needs. It’s important to identify needs and priorities and to then find solutions that are purpose-built to address them.

14. 28% of organizations reported “lack of funds to allocate to engagement” as the biggest challenge regarding employee satisfaction

15. After establishing their priorities, organizations need to pay careful attention to how they implement their digital strategies. This includes choosing technology systems that integrate effectively to tie together workflows and provide valuable insights. Even the best technology will be ineffective if it’s not adopted across the organization and used in the way it’s intended. Behavioral health executives have identified a variety of challenges with the implement of new digital tools, namely budget restraints and lack of time and resources to dedicate to the implementation. What challenges does your organization face regarding implementing new digital strategies? 50% Budget Restraints 48% Lack of time/resources to dedicate to implementation 37% Concerns about employee adoption/training Finally, behavioral health leaders need to champion these digital strategies to drive their adoption and ongoing success across the organization. Leaders must then leverage the insights they gain from their tech solutions to continuously make improvements and work toward financial sustainability. 31% Lack of qualified talent to manage tools 30% Concerns about employee adoption

16. EXECUTIVE Conclusion Improving an organization’s financial health is a business imperative for behavioral health leaders. As more and more organizations lose funding and risk shutting down, executives need to consider tech solutions that will improve employee satisfaction, leverage that technology to streamline operations, and champion a digital framework that can help them improve outcomes. The key takeaways from this 2024 Executive Perspectives in Behavioral Health Report include that: 1 Achieving financial health is essential for an organization’s long- term sustainability. 2 Technology can support operational efficiency and effectiveness to improve financial health. 3 It’s important to find the right technology and to be strategic in how it’s implemented and leveraged across the organization.

17. About ContinuumCloud ContinuumCloud offers a spectrum of cloud- based software solutions intentionally designed to meet the unique needs of the behavioral health and human services industry. These solutions include an EHR platform, powered by Welligent; an HCM system, powered by DATIS e3; and a patient engagement platform, powered by CaredFor. Through these offerings, ContinuumCloud empowers organizations to provide high-quality care and deliver on their mission.