Ditching the Fax Machine: How Can We Open More Doors for Our Clients?

Mind Springs is using CRN to provide better, faster care

When it comes to caring for patients at Mind Springs Health, the Community Resource Network (CRN) is enabling care providers to open more doors for their patients and in turn offer more assistance leading to better outcomes.

The CRN platform is a community-driven collaboration system that helps medical, behavioral, and social service providers identify an individual’s needs and take action to fill those needs quickly and effectively. Developed by Quality Health Network, western Colorado’s Health Information Exchange, CRN leverages the work and relationships already in place, reduces duplication of services, and prioritizes action for the people being served. CRN went live in the summer of 2020.

“It’s important for us to be able to coordinate the social services needs for our clients while keeping their mental and behavioral health information private. CRN allows us to do just that. Oftentimes our clients may need food assistance or housing, and with CRN we can help them receive the critical services for both their behavioral and social health needs. It gives us the ability to quickly send and receive referrals, enabling Mind Springs and our community partners to provide the right resources to the right person at the right time,” says David Hayden, VP of Quality and Compliance, Mind Springs Health.

Until now, the process of connecting additional services for clients was laborious for Mind Springs Health employees. “We follow very strict privacy and confidentiality regulations. Prior to CRN, we used encrypted emails or even fax to request assistance, which is not very dependable and is much more time-consuming. CRN gives our clients better access to quality, coordinated services, resulting in less duplication of services while keeping their behavioral health information secure,” adds Hayden.

For Mind Springs Health and other organizations, using the CRN platform means faster and more efficient communication with partner agencies and more successful outcomes for the client.

“Connecting people with the right care at the right time is critical, and that’s what CRN does,” says Jackie Siever, CRN Director of Implementation. We are constantly working to get more medical, behavioral, and social agencies plugged into the network. The more organizations utilizing CRN, the better the outcomes will be.”

For Mind Springs Health patients, oftentimes their social and behavioral health needs go hand in hand.

“We know that people who have difficulty meeting basic life needs also have higher occurrences of mental disorder. These people are our number one priority and have nowhere else to go. With our team and the tools that CRN provides we can help them now more than ever,” Hayden adds.

For media inquiries regarding the partnership between Mind Springs Health and Community Resource Network, please contact Keira Bresnahan at (970) 628-0827 or (970) 250-9052.

For more info, watch the video below or visit https://communityresourcenet.org/