Brattleboro Retreat, a private, not-for-profit, psychiatric hospital in the US, has entered a new partnership to deploy MEDITECH’s Expanse electronic health record (EHR) leveraging cloud hosted MEDITECH-as-a-Service (MaaS) model. 

The hospital provides a full range of services tailored to address the mental health requirements of both rural and urban communities. 

With the deployment of the MaaS subscription-based platform, Brattleboro Retreat will be able to further expand its existing services with a new, mobile, as well as scalable solution. 

Brattleboro Retreat’s team, working in close coordination with MEDITECH, aims to connect communities, while enhancing access to a wide range of mental health services.  

The hospital will utilise ‘Traverse’, MEDITECH's advanced interoperability toolset, to connect with other referring healthcare facilities.  

This open connectivity solution will further allow healthcare facilities to preserve their independence as a distinct care provider, while ensuring smooth transitions of care. 

Brattleboro Retreat interim CEO Steve Cummings said: “Investing in our electronic health record will enhance both the efficiency and quality of our work while also improving employee satisfaction. 

“Expanse enables us to incorporate new technology like handhelds and tablets, which our old system couldn't support, greatly benefiting inpatient and outpatient services.  

“With these new tools, we can expand our services, remain competitive, and address the significant challenges of retaining and recruiting high-quality staff.” 

Brattleboro Retreat is spearheading a range of programmes aimed at addressing the mental health needs of its community.  

Some of these initiatives include group therapy and specialised treatments tailored for first responders and healthcare professionals dealing with anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or stress. 

Furthermore, Brattleboro Retreat plans to harness Expanse’s clinical decision-support solutions to meet the specific dosing and patient monitoring requirements of its outpatient Spravato clinic. 

Brattleboro Retreat chief medical officer Dr Karl Jeffries said: “We are very excited about our upcoming transition to MEDITECH Expanse. We anticipate the new system will improve efficiencies in workflows, safety monitoring, and the delivery of high-quality patient care. 

“Expanded mobility will bring the new EHR into the interview rooms with our patients, and decrease the need for our providers to travel back and forth between patient encounters and a workstation located elsewhere.”