When many people think of healthcare, they may initially think of traditional structures such as hospitals, a doctor's office, or urgent care. However, there are many agencies outside of these avenues that ensure every person in the community receives the care they need, regardless of their income levels.
Government- and donation-funded healthcare programs, such as county public health departments or mental health clinics, provide and refer people to services on a limited budget. And this will only get more difficult, as national health expenditures are expected to increase by 2.2% in 2025.
These organizations are often stuck in outdated internal systems, such as spreadsheets and legacy software. They don't want to spend money to invest in new workflows because every cent needs to go to their program. While these concerns are understandable, there is good news. Health and human services software like PlanStreet helps healthcare workers do their job better and faster, so your teams can focus on what they love: caring for the community's physical and mental well-being.
What Is Healthcare Program Management?
Healthcare Program Management includes the systems, workflows, and tools used to oversee service delivery, client progress, resource allocation, and reporting for health-related programs. These can include:
- Community health and outreach
- Behavioral and mental health programs
- Substance use recovery initiatives
- Chronic disease management
- Women's health and family planning
- Public health initiatives funded by grants
These programs require integrated solutions for intake, documentation, referrals, treatment tracking, and outcome reporting in healthcare. When each program has a different database to store information on their clients, it creates a data silo. That means that it's harder for practitioners from separate institutions to consult with one another about the needs of their clients. Software like PlanStreet provides a platform to complete all of these requirements in one place.
Government Requirements for Health and Human Services Software
Public health program software must follow requirements set by the federal government, as well as any state and local regulations. Some of the key requirements include:
- HIPAA Security Rule: Software safeguards the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI). It requires features such as access controls, encryption, and audit controls.
- Section 508 Accessibility: Software must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, ensuring equal access to government information and digital services.
- ONC Health IT Certification: Requirements for data exchange, vocabulary, technical, and content standards to ensure interoperability across healthcare systems.
- FedRAMP Compliance: Required system for cloud service providers that work with US federal agencies.
PlanStreet's Case Management Platform for Healthcare
PlanStreet matches the needs of healthcare service providers by providing user-friendly case management software that follows essential government regulations. Our customizable platform is designed specifically for health and human services organizations. Learn more about our key capabilities below.
Automated Intake and Assessments
PlanStreet has a customizable form builder. With time-saving data validation and conditionality features, new clients only fill out the information relevant to their health needs. Information from intake forms can automatically populate in their file. Additionally, PlanStreet offers extensive assessment forms so that practitioners can collect all the information they need to plan services and provide care.
Service Plan Tracking
Our healthcare case management platform includes personalized case boards to help healthcare providers track and plan services. Calendar features allow them to find times in their patients' schedules easily, and they can reach out to clients directly through the client portal. For each service or activity, you can add important information such as:
- The priority
- The grant used to fund the activity
- Case notes
- A start and end date
- Relevant forms
- The case worker responsible for the activity
- A checklist associated with the activity
- Additional comments
Treatment Plan Management
PlanStreet's software helps practitioners build treatment plans that every stakeholder can access. It creates a clear, clean paper trail through automated documentation. For example, a therapist can review case notes and understand why their patient's doctor recommended a specific treatment.
Secure Client Records
Government regulations such as HIPAA require strict confidentiality with patient information. PlanStreet is a HIPAA-compliant software to protect the safety of your patients and providers. Our secure client records allow the right people to access their clients' information, while protecting data from hackers.
Outcome Reporting and Analysis
Data-driven decision making is critical in case management for healthcare agencies. It can help hospitals and other organizations pinpoint inefficiencies, helping them see where to maximize their time and budget. PlanStreet offers a tailored reporting solution that makes it simple to visualize your data through pie charts, bar graphs, maps, and more. You don't have to be a data scientist---with one click, you can generate and export a report.
Specialized Focus: Behavioral and Mental Health Programs
Healthcare doesn't stop at physical care. In 2021, over 6.6 million hospital emergency department visits were for mental health or substance abuse. PlanStreet empowers organizations that deliver behavioral health services. Our mental health program software comes alongside agencies and helps them:
- Conduct initial mental health screenings.
- Develop customized forms.
- Track therapy sessions and progress notes, and instantly share them internally with the client's other providers.
- Coordinate care among clinicians, social workers, and support programs better with automated conflict appointment checks.
- Simplify paperwork with electronic signatures and secure document sharing.
- Report outcomes to funders and accrediting bodies.
Real-World Use Case: From Chaos to Coordination
Jack Fonder is a Community Outreach Manager and Community Health Worker at the Transformation Project SD. Located in Sioux Falls, the nonprofit supports transgender individuals across the state and educates the state as a whole. They connect transgender men and women to food, housing, and healthcare needs.
Before they used PlanStreet, they just had an intake form that was a Google doc that was then logged in a spreadsheet. It didn't allow them a place to save notes for each client or track services. After implementing PlanStreet, it's easier for their team to follow up with clients, keep tabs on notes and services, and track which service organizations are most welcoming to LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Compliance and Data Security
PlanStreet takes compliance and data security seriously, and we are proud to be FedRAMP-ready and HIPAA-compliant. We've also earned the HITRUST certification and are GDPR compliant, helping organizations that handle data of EU residents.
Our platform aligns with NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 security controls, with data security features including:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Users must provide multiple forms of identification before accessing sensitive data.
- Data Encryption: Data is encrypted at rest and in transit, so only authorized users can access client information.
- Role-Based Access Controls: The platform uses permissions and access controls to restrict data access to only those who need it.
- Regular Security Monitoring: Checking for potential threats and periodic internal security evaluations to address risks.
- Automated Data Backups: Performed to ensure data integrity and support disaster recovery.
- Limited Data Access: Only PlanStreet developers can access client data when necessary to resolve client-related issues
- Frequent Software Updates: To address vulnerabilities and enhance security.
With FIPS 140-3 validated encryption, transparent data encryption (TDE), and Azure-based CMK architecture, healthcare organizations can trust that their data is secure and accessible.
Who Should Use PlanStreet?
With a customizable interface, PlanStreet can be tailored to meet the exact needs of specific health and human services organizations. That being said, our healthcare case management platform particularly benefits:
- Public health departments: With limited resources and fragmented systems, they benefit greatly from access to all information in one convenient platform.
- Behavioral health clinics: Coordination of care across providers is simplified with PlanStreet's calendar, automated appointment conflict checks, and secure sharing of health records.
- Nonprofit medical outreach programs: Intuitive online client scheduling tools, intake forms, and assessment forms simplify the onboarding process.
- School-based health initiatives: Client portals make it easy to communicate with parents and guardians.
- Grant-funded health and wellness organizations: PlanStreet's grant management tools help with micro-level grant distribution and unified reporting of grant use.
PlanStreet was built for healthcare case workers and administrators who manage people, programs, and outcomes.
Take the Next Step Toward Healthier Program Delivery
Healthcare programs are life-saving resources for the community. Take the next step to elevate your care with PlanStreet's public health program software. Our tools simplify healthcare program management for clinics, public agencies, nonprofits, and more.
Book a personalized demo today to see how we can help your agency and answer any questions you have about our platform.