Behavioral health a new focus for Allscripts

Netsmart deal will result in provider collaboration platform, says Mike Valentine.


In a complicated arrangement, electronic health records vendor Allscripts and behavioral health/social services EHR firm Netsmart Technologies will build a cloud-based platform enabling traditional clinical providers as well as home health and behavioral health providers to collaborate in the era of accountable care organizations.

Allscripts, which has offered a range of information systems in traditional inpatient and ambulatory clinical settings, now also can offer clients a solution addressing the social determinants of health, says Rich Elmore, senior vice president of corporate development and strategy. “Providers want to continue providing services after the patient leaves.”

Allscripts has invested in Netsmart, contributing the Allscripts home health business—along with about 200 staff serving the home health segment who now will become part of Netsmart, and Allscripts also is adding about $70 million in cash to the joint venture, which will assume the Netsmart name.

Investment firm GI Partners also owns a piece of Netsmart. Allscripts is the largest investor, but neither owns at least 51 percent, because Netsmart management owns some remaining stock. But essentially, Allscripts and GI Partners bought Netsmart, says Mike Valentine, CEO at Netsmart, who will lead the new venture.

This is the first foray into home health for Netsmart, which serves providers offering behavioral health and addiction treatment, as well as child welfare and other social services for inpatient and outpatient facilities. The services also are delivered to schools and professionals who provide care services in homes.

Also See: CMS tool helps providers target treatment interventions

No platform today serves all these segments outside of the walls of a hospital, and connecting various provider types together to offer home health and behavioral health services, which will bring more provider segments into accountable care, is the goal of the initiative, according to Valentine. Other services will include revenue cycle management, scheduling and other business management functions, as well as analytics.

The combined cloud platform of home health technology from Allscripts and health and human services technology from Netsmart is expected to bring in $250 million in annual revenue and more than $60 million in annual operating income. The companies expect the platform to be running in about six months.

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