Patient Engagement & Communication Platform

A Case Study on Douglas County Youth Detention and Behavioral Health Center

After doubling its youth center’s care capacity, the Douglas County Youth Detention and Behavioral Health Center needed secure messaging to improve engagement and close the technology gap for at-risk kids.

Challenge:

• In the age of electronic health records and patient privacy, care center staff continued to pass emails back and forth, played phone tag with the consultants providing specialty care, and spent a lot of time counting and recounting important details to keep their patients moving forward in their care plan.
• Then the pandemic hit, bringing restrictions that prevented contract providers from entering the building and limiting in-person interactions between staff. Care coordination became an even more pressing issue than it had been before, creating urgency for Douglas County leaders to begin searching for a care collaboration solution capable of bridging gaps in technology and administration.

Solution:

Douglas County implemented Backline as a secure messaging solution for the youth center in the early days of the pandemic, turning on group chat functionality and 1:1 SMS texting to increase the speed and efficacy of clinical communication between the center’s onsite care staff and the many clinicians and case managers who work off-site on contract.

Result:

Major efficiencies in workflow soon followed. Less lead time for patient consultations was needed. Less waiting to get a child scheduled and seen by a provider meant more time to confer with specialists. Without paper trails to chase down and with far fewer calls and emails to return, more time was spent providing care to kids who needed it most.