March 29, 2023
7 min readHow NUWAY and Procentive work hand-in-hand to continuously improve
Table Of Contents
About NUWAY
Beginning as a grassroots movement by the members of the 2218 Alano Society in Minneapolis, NUWAY was founded as a non-profit on May 10, 1996. It was one of the first halfway houses not only in Minnesota but in the country. The members of 2218 believed that extended time in a safe, sober environment without being isolated from the community would improve an individual’s chances of long-term recovery. As their success grew, they established another halfway house and purchased a counseling center.
In 2011, rate reform pushed many providers to become high-intensity residential treatments, which left a gap in extended care services. NUWAY became a medium-intensity residential treatment to bridge the gap and to continue to fulfill its goal of providing extended care to people who needed more time to sustain their recovery. After they realized that extended care clients were often discharged unsafely to the streets, NUWAY created the R.I.S.E. (Recovery In Supportive Environments) model. When they successfully disrupted the improper care, short-term cycle, communities across Minnesota requested NUWAY operate R.I.S.E programs in their communities.
Reporting challenges
NUWAY was using a different EHR, but it wasn’t meeting their needs. Eventually, they went with Procentive, one of Ensora Health’s solutions for substance use recovery, as Procentive had most of the functions they needed and used. It’s also easy to use, which means less time spent training or contacting support. NUWAY’s billing department also explained that Procentive’s billing tools meet their needs in a way that other EHRs have not been able to achieve. A smooth billing workflow is extremely important, especially since many nonprofits are spread thin and often require multiple funding sources that can destabilize their agency. Substance use treatment is primarily reliant on public sources, and as such, is chronically underfunded.
Because of the complex requirements for state reporting for nonprofits and substance use recovery, NUWAY couldn’t use the standard forms or tweak a template and call it a day. Procentive is aware of the challenges in reporting faced by agencies like NUWAY, so the team worked with them to build fully customized DSM-5-ready reports NUWAY could use. Procentive also made sure to tailor forms to NUWAY’s needs, so the nonprofit is able to spend less time on documentation. Julie explains, “Our forms are built to what NUWAY needs and help our staff work smarter, not harder.” This is especially important for a busy organization that has multiple facilities that focus on long-term recovery.
“Our forms are built to what NUWAY needs and help our staff work smarter, not harder.”
NUWAY didn’t just need software; they needed a partner with an ongoing relationship that could evolve and grow alongside their needs. NUWAY can focus on improving how their clinicians work with Procentive by building forms that work for their unique needs. At Procentive, we believe that the software should apply to your agency’s needs, and not the other way around. Agencies change their processes, and states change their requirements, so we make sure you can adapt your templates to make work easier. NUWAY also keeps working with Procentive on customizing reports. They use 3400 reports daily to capture census information, and they’re still working on adding more information.
For agencies who don’t need custom builds, Procentive has a document sandbox with various templates. Browse or search for the templates you need (like initial assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes through discharge summaries), and we’ll add them to your system.
How Procentive helps NUWAY focus on care
When clinicians compare notes from previous EHRs, it’s clear that Procentive’s system is much easier to use. Julie mentioned that “the clinical and charting module is easy to use for most users, including those with minimal technology experience.” Clinicians can focus on doing their job instead of learning how to use the software. Procentive also supports clinicians by allowing users to flag appointments or clinical documents with missing CPT codes. And unlike some other user-friendly EHRs, Procentive can still meet a practice’s complex needs. It sounds simple, but if the software you use daily is easy to use, that means you spend a lot less time trying to figure out how to do things. That time adds up, with less burnout, higher rates of successful outcomes, and more time to spend on the quality-of-care NUWAY is known for.
“…the clinical and charting module is easy to use for most users, including those with minimal technology experience.”
What you can learn from NUWAY
NUWAY found their transition to Procentive to be easy, but if you’re looking to improve your agency’s success with Procentive, Julie has some tips. “I would recommend training staff in the modules that are needed for their daily jobs and giving them a basic overview of the whole system. We still have staff that do not know how to use clinical/charting, and it has been 7 plus years of them working in the system.”
Julie also recommends having a system administrator “from day one” to manage the system. System administrators bridge the gap between the technology and the people using it. They can help an organization become more agile by keeping up with the software, how it changes, and how to use it to work better and faster. With a dedicated system administrator, your staff has more time to focus on their specialties, and your organization as a whole can become more productive and effective. “We recently started this, and it has made a huge change to our organization and streamlining processes.” While staff at NUWAY initially struggled to let go of their control of the system, they eventually found it extremely helpful since they could focus on their tasks instead of trying to figure out who remembers to add users or who has permission to update staff locations.
A smooth transition
We get that switching EHR is difficult, even when it benefits you. That’s why Procentive assigns a dedicated implementation team to your agency. The implementation team works and guides you through the setup and helps you train so you can hit the ground running.
About Procentive by Ensora Health
Procentive offers an EHR solution that’s simple, yet fully featured. We make sure you have everything you need to manage your substance use recovery agency, all integrated within a single platform. We work with our customers to provide them with the tools they need to make a positive impact on their communities. Procentive wants to make your job easier because we know how much you help people when you’re not tied down by tedious tasks.
With features like bed management to track inpatient stays, e-prescribe with EPCS controlled substances, comprehensive state reporting, ONC-Certification, and more, you can provide whole-person care in complex settings without anyone falling through the cracks.
Every agency is unique. You’ve read what we do for NUWAY. Let’s see what we can do for you. Schedule a demo today.
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