Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Tim Murphy (R-Penn.) introduced legislation that would make behavioral and mental health professionals eligible to receive incentive payments for the meaningful use of electronic health records.
The HITECH Act did not include mental health providers, clinical psychologists, psychiatric hospitals and substance abuse treatment facilities in the incentive program.
But physical health and behavioral health are often linked, Kennedy said.
Kennedy and Murphy, who are co-chairs of the 21st Century Health Care Caucus, introduced the bill, the Health IT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act, on April 15.
"[The legislation] acknowledges what was established with the passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act " that we need to treat illnesses of the brain just as we would ailments of any other part of the body," Kennedy said in an announcement.
Mental health professionals need complete and current medical histories to diagnose and treat patients, said Murphy, a psychologist.
"Delivering health IT to mental and behavioral providers bridges the care for those with mental and physical illness," he said. For instance, when depression is not treated, the costs of caring for a person with a chronic illness like heart disease can double, he said.
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