News

Excitement is building for the 8th Annual Peer to Peer Summit, which will occur October 3rd-6th in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

This year’s Summit features presentations on topics ranging from Echo’s new TravelEHR™ product, to updates on industry trends and issues.  Of special note, 14 of the 32 sessions are presentations done by Echo customers.

“We’ve been really pleased with the response we have had from our customers about presenting this year.” noted Joe Viger, VP of Business Development.  “Peer to Peer was started with the goal of the event being information sharing between customers, and this year we have the highest ever number of customers presenting in the true peer to peer format.”

ABOUT PEER TO PEER

Late in 2002, The Echo Group started to discuss a new event for its customers. Some initially described the event as a “user group”, but as the event took shape, we began to believe that it could be much more and chose a name accordingly… The Peer to Peer Summit.

Peer to Peer has continued to evolve, becoming an event where customers, and Echo staff share insights, learn from each other, and find new ways to challenge their organizations to improve.

For more information about Peer to Peer and to register, visit the Peer to Peer website.

Please support HR 5040 – HITECH Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010

The HITECH Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010 proposes to provide meaningful use of Electronic Health Records to mental health professionals and facilities, a category of providers that were excluded from the original American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health provisions, which were signed into law in 2009.

Please contact your US representative and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.  To contact them, you can use the House of Representatives Website.

As behavioral health organizations face funding challenges, this bill is a means by which many organizations can receive funding for training on and implementation of Electronic Health Records, funding which has already been made available to other healthcare markets.

CONWAY, NH – The Echo Group, a leader in providing software to Behavioral Health organizations for 30 years, has announced the appointment of Fasi Siddiqui as President, The Echo Group of California.

Mr. Siddiqui comes to Echo from RWD Technologies where he served as a Strategic Initiatives Executive, with a focus on multiple markets, with an emphasis on healthcare. Prior to that, he was President of F.S. Systems for 10 years, where he provided leadership and executive support to several government agencies, during the implementation of large enterprise-wide software implementations within the state of California. F.S. Systems frequently won accolades from its clients and software partners for delivering successful implementations and its superior customer service.

“The Echo Group and its staff are leaders in the behavioral healthcare industry and one of the strongest companies in the market,” said Fasi. “The Oakland-based team is by the far the most experienced group in the areas of behavioral health and state regulations within the state of California. I am excited to lead our talented team as we assist our valuable customers in the adoption of our next generation software solutions. One of my primary objectives is to enhance our customer experience through superior implementation services and support.”

“Fasi will play a key role for Echo in ensuring California customers are well served and our business development efforts continue to be successful,” remarked Echo Chairman of the Board, George Epstein. “He brings a unique understanding of California government and county operations to our company. The addition of Fasi to our management team coupled with recent sales to Inyo County in California and a five county consortium in Michigan, positions Echo for a very strong 2010.”

ABOUT THE ECHO GROUP – Since 1980, The Echo Group has been developing enterprise software applications that have been used nationwide to address the needs of Behavioral Health organizations. Echo offers a suite of Windows-based and Web-based applications for Administrative, Clinical EHR and Billing functions. They also offer a suite of services, including Transaction Management Billing Services and Fiscal and Clinical Process Workflow Analysis. The company is headquartered in Conway, New Hampshire, and also has offices in Lewiston, Maine, Powell, Ohio and Oakland, California.

For more information contact Paul Kirsch, Marketing Manager at paul.kirsch@echoman.com or visit www.echoman.com.

BISHOP, CA – Inyo County Behavioral Health has selected The Echo Group’s ShareCare™ product for their Clinical EHR and Billing Software. Inyo will be using the product to establish a complete Electronic Health Record and integrated billing solution, including critical California requirements like CalOMS, OSHPD, CSI, and Short Doyle II.

Inyo County is located in the East Central portion of California. Inyo County Behavioral Health provides a full range of services to children, adults and seniors with mental health, substance abuse and co-occurring disorders. Inyo is focused on wellness, recovery, self-directed care and integrated services within a client/family-driven mental health system.

“We’re excited to add Inyo County Behavioral Health to our growing roster of ShareCare customers. Utilizing Echo’s Oakland-based staff with extensive experience in our California specific solution and state regulations, we plan on successfully completing the project in a very short duration. Working in a spirit of collaboration, we look forward to a long-term partnership with Inyo County”, said Fasi Siddiqui, President of the California Division of The Echo Group.

“We chose Echo’s ShareCare product due to the fact that Echo has remained current with the complexities of the California MediCal regulations and Short Doyle II,” remarked Gail Zwier, Inyo County Behavioral Health Director. “Echo is providing a county with budgetary constraints and limited IT resources the necessary service and support to understand the product and customize it to meet our unique needs and challenges as we move toward a fully electronic health record.”

ABOUT THE ECHO GROUP – Since 1980, The Echo Group has been developing enterprise software applications that have been used nationwide to address the needs of Behavioral Health organizations. Echo offers a suite of Windows-based and Web-based applications for Administrative, Clinical EHR and Billing functions. They also offer a suite of services, including Transaction Management Billing Services and Fiscal and Clinical Process Workflow Analysis. The company is headquartered in Conway, New Hampshire, and also has offices in Lewiston, Maine, Powell, Ohio and Oakland, California.

The Software and Technology Vendors’ Association held their spring meeting and convened the second session of their Interoperability Workgroup in Orlando, FL during the National Council’s Annual Conference. The Workgroup is developing a Continuity of Care Document (CCD) for Behavioral Healthcare that would facilitate data exchange between providers. Echo was well represented in this discussion by Echo’s VP of Business Development, Joe Viger, and Marketing Manager, Paul Kirsch. Echo customer Grady Wilkinson, CEO of Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center in Richmond, Michigan, was very active in the discussion encouraging Behavioral Health to take the lead in interoperability initiatives like the CCD.

SATVA also held their spring members meeting. During this session, Joe Viger was elected to a position on the SATVA Board of Directors. “I am looking forward to being an active participant on the SATVA Board. The mission of SATVA to promote the use of technology and standards in behavioral healthcare is important for the future of both vendors and providers.”