| In the age of the Internet, identifying and | | | | |
| monitoring mental health problems has, to a | | | | Medical records in mental health can also be |
| certain extent, become something one can do | | | | formatted and streamlined to the required |
| at home. This does not mean that complete | | | | Federal standards by using specialized |
| mental health treatment is available via | | | | software. Mental health software also helps |
| cyberspace. However, the lacuna of general | | | | mental health professionals in scanning and |
| awareness that existed until only ten years | | | | matching mental disorders to appropriate |
| ago has been filled by readily available | | | | medications and maintaining billing flow |
| information on the Internet. | | | | charts. |
| | | | |
| Mental health software is a great self-help | | | | Owing to the exceptional confidentiality |
| tool, but its scope in that field is | | | | parameters surrounding professional mental |
| necessarily limited. Accurate diagnoses and | | | | healthcare, software packages for |
| therapeutic measures will remain the | | | | practitioners now also include features to |
| exclusive domain of mental health | | | | hide PHI (Protected Health Information) from |
| professionals. | | | | anything but authorized eyes. This is |
| | | | especially useful for individual |
| In that respect and to such practitioners, | | | | practitioners who do not have the benefits of |
| mental health software is a genuine boon. It | | | | a full-fledged clinic's security measures at |
| is useful in assisting clinicians in | | | | their disposal. |
| maintaining updated case histories and | | | | |
| records. This is very important because of | | | | Mental health software also helps clinicians |
| the high rate of litigation associated with | | | | in maintaining comprehensive appointment |
| mental health cases in America today. | | | | schedules. Since a psychiatrist or |
| Psychiatrists are often called upon to | | | | psychologist might have as many as twelve |
| testify on the state of a defendant's mental | | | | fifty-minute appointments in a single day, |
| health status. In such cases, easy retrieval | | | | this is a major advantage to them. |
| of records is of the essence. | | | | |