Luna Jane Bennett (left) and her best friend Alexis Bennett, founder of Orka Health and Wellness
Photo: Alexis Bennett
Minneapolis-based Orka Health and Wellness is a mental health therapy group practice of licensed therapists, a registered dietitian, an executive function skills coach, a psychologist and a spiritual coach.
THE CHALLENGE
The caregivers knew from the start they wanted to avoid the many challenges of operating a practice without an electronic health record.
"Without an integrated EHR, our operational processes such as scheduling, billing and documentation would likely have been managed through disparate tools, primarily spreadsheets," said Alexis Bennett, cofounder of Orka Health and Wellness and a member of EHR vendor SimplePractice's customer advisory board.
"This manual approach would have introduced significant limitations and risks, including a higher probability of human error, inefficiencies, and potential compliance issues with patient data and regulatory standards," she continued. "Any work in spreadsheets is time-consuming and lacks the streamlined, intuitive nature of dedicated EHR processes."
PROPOSAL
Before launching Orka Health and Wellness in September 2021, Bennett and her business partner conducted extensive research to identify the best EHR system. They understood selecting the right platform was critical to their practice's early and long-term success.
"While we reviewed several alternatives, SimplePractice quickly emerged as the clear choice due to its comprehensive features and strong reputation within the mental health therapy space," she explained. "We wanted a platform that could streamline daily operations and also showed a commitment to continuous improvement based on user feedback from both clients and providers.
"Our peers consistently shared positive experiences with the vendor, which reinforced our decision," she continued. "Importantly, the platform allowed us to project and measure the clinical hours needed to reach profitability, providing a clear roadmap for financial sustainability."
The business partners saw the EHR as a system that would grow with the organization and alleviate the administrative challenges that often weigh down new practices.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
The cofounders and owners of Orka Health and Wellness decided to use the vendor as their exclusive EHR platform for all clinicians. The strategy has always included adding new licenses as they onboard independent contractor clinicians, ensuring everyone at Orka operates on the same system. This approach fosters consistency, allows for quick and seamless training, and keeps all team members on the same page, Bennett said.
The EHR is integrated with various tools and services that significantly enhance the user experience, she added.
"The platform allows us to create insurance claims and manage invoicing and bill payments in a matter of seconds," she explained. "Its robust template offerings enable us to customize documentation specific to our practice while also using pre-created templates. We confidently manage clinical notes for ourselves, our providers and those under supervision – ensuring compliance with all regulatory standards.
"The thoughtful addition of the AI Note Taker has also enhanced our therapeutic approach by allowing for more accurate and comprehensive capturing of session details," she continued. "This efficiency ensures claims are submitted the same day, resulting in timely payments for our providers."
The SimplePractice mobile app provides a convenient way for both providers and clients to access therapy services from anywhere, offering greater flexibility than traditional browser-based access, she noted.
"Their integrated telehealth option allows our providers to serve clients across the entire state, expanding our reach beyond geographical limitations," Bennett said. "A key factor in our choice was the inclusion of Wiley Treatment Planners.
"What once took an hour to write a treatment plan now takes 10 minutes or less, enabling us to see more clients and address rising mental health needs while also promoting a healthy work-life balance for our providers," she continued. "The vendor has remained committed to consistently creating new products, which has resulted in the addition of AI tools, client measures and report generators."
RESULTS
Orka Health and Wellness has experienced significant growth and efficiency, in part because of the EHR, Bennett said.
"We have doubled our revenue each of the last three years while maintaining minimal incremental expenses," she reported. "The EHR's streamlined operational processes – particularly in scheduling, billing and documentation – have allowed us to scale our practice efficiently without a proportionate increase in overhead.
"The platform's comprehensive tools have been instrumental in managing this growth, enabling us to expand our client base and provider team with ease," she added.
Another key success metric has been the substantial reduction in time required to meet insurance requirements for client progress notes. This efficiency gain Bennett largely attributes to features like the AI Note Taker. This directly contributes to increased revenue for the practice and higher satisfaction among providers, she said.
The platform also has significantly eased the process of meeting new clinician quotas.
"As we onboard new therapists, it helps us manage their schedules and monitor performance, particularly the minimum hours needed for them to reach their break-even point," Bennett explained. "This support ensures a smoother and more effective integration of new team members, allowing them to become productive faster and contribute to the overall financial health of the practice.
"We opened in September 2021 with the intention of adding additional providers within three to five years," she added. "However, due to the ease of the platform and the rising demand for mental health services, we now have 24 providers, which is 12 times our inception."
Follow Bill's health IT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
Email him: bsiwicki@himss.org
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