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SAMHSA News Room
Contact Media Services: (240) 276-2130

SAMHSA News Bulletin

Date: 3/20/2009
Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130

New Nationwide Report Provides Overview of the Capabilities of State Mental Health Agencies’ Information Technology Systems

A new report provides a nationwide overview of the increasingly crucial role information technology (IT) plays in helping the states provide mental health services.  The report issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also reveals the differences in the size, types, and uses of IT resources among the nation’s state mental health agencies. 

Public mental health services are primarily provided by the state mental health agencies which increasingly rely upon their IT systems to provide essential functions such as:

• Monitoring the public mental health service system for service gaps
• Ensuring that persons living with a mental illness receive timely, appropriate, and needed services
• Reimbursing mental health providers for services provided
• Building accountability performance targets and outcome measures.


SAMHSA developed the report as a means of providing greater insight into the nature, capabilities and challenges of state mental health agencies’ IT systems and the steps that can be taken to help enhance them.

The full report is available on the Web at http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/URS_Data07/CMHS_State_MH_DataSystems.pdf . Copies may be obtained free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727).  For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.


Page Last Updated: 3/19/2009