Division of Youth Services Utilizes CORHIO to Fill Information Gaps

High-risk youths often have complex health histories and getting the full story can be difficult for their care providers.

The State of Colorado Division of Youth Services and their 10 medical clinics are undergoing a multi-layered initiative to improve the care they provide for at-risk youth and has turned to CORHIO to complete an important piece of the puzzle. In addition to adopting health information exchange, they are also adopting an advanced electronic health record system, integrating physical and behavioral health, and seeking new accreditations. “The division is really working hard to use the taxpayers’ money wisely and provide excellence in care,” says Peggy Baikie, Medical Operations Coordinator.

Time-Consuming Medical Record Process

The youth in the division’s care fall into two categories, with two different average lengths of stay. With an average stay of two weeks, youths who are making their way through the court system, are seen at the health clinic for an initial assessment. For convicted youths, they can stay an average of 15-16 months, and have a more complex health assessment and examination.

“We needed CORHIO because getting information about a kid’s health was difficult and we had pretty inconsistent results,” says Baikie. “If the youth even knew where he had obtained recent treatment, or what exactly was going on, it would be hard to get the records to verify what they said was true.”

Now that the Division of Youth Services is using PatientCare 360® to view past medical histories, they are better informed to help patients. And if they send a patient offsite to an area hospital for treatment, they can now see exactly what happened, even reviewing laboratory results.

“We have a fairly unique population – they often bounce around from place to place, with multiple providers. They can be poor historians or even be embarrassed to tell us about a medical incident or condition, such as a mental illness or even asthma. CORHIO is a great addition to help us improve their care,” says Baikie. “The ability to have accurate information on our patients and where their health is at is invaluable.”

Providers Appreciate the Convenience

The providers and staff at the Division of Youth Services are busy and the ability to look up a patient’s medical history is saving them valuable time. “Providers love CORHIO, it saves so much time in trying to track down what’s going on with the youth and it’s easy to use” says Baikie. “It either validates what the patient said or provides even more information that fills in the blanks.”

For the youths who have been committed and will be in the system for a year or more in some cases, the extensive health assessment helps to determine which facility they will be placed in. For example, some facilities offer specialized treatment options, such as for substance abuse, and if the health assessment reveals a need for it, the youth will be placed in that facility. “Sadly these are high-risk youth who don’t always take care of themselves. We’re looking at these kids from birth to present day, academically, socially, medically, behaviorally, you name it,” says Baikie. “CORHIO gives us the opportunity to gear our care treatment appropriately.”

The next step in their CORHIO partnership will be sending care summaries into the health information exchange, once their new EHR is up and running. “We want all the providers taking care of our patients to see what happened while they were with us,” says Baikie.