The Network has seen a surge in participation among behavioral health providers with the recent announcement and initial implementation activities of a statewide health information exchange (HIE) integration plan. As AzHeC announced last month, Arizona’s three regional behavioral health authorities (RBHAs) have joined in a statewide plan to integrate physical and behavioral health in the statewide HIE.  As a result of this plan and outreach to all community providers, 37 behavioral health providers have joined The Network to date, bringing the total overall to 154 participants. The most recent list of Network participants is available here.

Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care; Health Choice Integrated Care; and Cenpatico Integrated Care have made a significant investment in this plan that is connecting behavioral health providers to the statewide HIE and integrating access to physical and behavioral health information into workflows and clinical decision making.

Tom Betlach, director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid Agency that manages the three RBHAs, is very supportive of the statewide plan. “We need to improve the value of the care delivered to all AHCCCS members, and one clear way to do that is for all of a member’s providers to share information and better coordinate care,” Betlach said.

With growth, The Network is also seeing a significant uptick in utilization. The most recent numbers show 7.0 million transactions per month and clinical data on 6.2 million patients. The Network today has data on more than 90% of hospital inpatient discharges and emergency department visits. See Network by the Numbers.

If you would like to learn more about The Network or are interested in becoming a Network participant, contact us at thenetwork@azhec.org or call (602) 688-7200.