M3 Clinician Receives NCQA Approval for Its Mental Health Tool; First Tool Approved for Mental Health in the Medical Home Prevalidation Effort

M3 Clinician was approved this week by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as an approved Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH™) Prevalidation Vendor. M3Clinician is a validated, patient-rated, multidimensional, care coordination tool that screens for behavioral health conditions, including depression, bipolar, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and substance use disorders.

Patients with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are twice as costly when their behavioral health conditions are not identified, misdiagnosed, or improperly treated. Preventable costs include medication nonadherence, overuse of emergency rooms, and excessive hospitalizations.

“Lack of mental health resources plagues our healthcare delivery system and costs our nation billions,” said Steve Daviss, M.D., chief medical information officer of M3 Information. “Elevating mental health issues by integrating them into our primary care settings will reduce patient suffering and achieve more efficient treatment.”

Practices using M3 Clinician as their behavioral health technology solution will benefit by receivingNCQA PCMH automatic credit in the approved areas, while being able to better manage their more complex patients, saving money and patient suffering. “By providing software that helps physician practices build the patient-focused, coordinated care infrastructure expected of NCQA patient-centered medical homes, M3 Clinician is helping practices be part of modern health care’s most important transformation,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Medical homes are the way of the future, and M3 Clinician is helping practices get there.”