Behavioral Health EHR Upgrade Planning

Migration to Netsmart’s latest iteration of its behavioral-health EHR platform myAvatar, known as myAvatar NX, is inevitable. Some states/counties are already in the process: New Hampshire has extended its timeline through 2028, North Dakota has formed an oversight committee, Nevada recently received approval for upgrade funding, and the counties of California are working on completing backend preparation.

For many, migrating to myAvatar NX seems like nothing more than a version update, however, this isn’t the case. While the benefits are worth it including a redesigned user interface, better navigation, and enhanced capabilities, myAvatar NX is a full-blown migration. There are both front-end changes, such as navigation, forms, and dashboards, impacting clinical workflows as well as backend changes, such as database structure, service layer, and integration points, impacting the technical architecture of the application.

Below are some of the top issues we’ve seen organizations run into during the migration to myAvatar NX:

1. Data Conversion Gone Wrong

The impact of a bad data conversion can be staggering: loss of critical data from custom forms, clinical documentation that won’t pull up correctly, reports that can’t access historical data, custom configurations no longer in tact, etc. A robust, structured data conversion service will alleviate these issues. Our approach includes taking inventory of customizations/configurations, developing a comprehensive data conversion strategy, reconciling data conversion issues, and ensuring everything has been accounted for before go-live.

2. Revenue Cycle Disruption

Changes to revenue cycle management within NX can have a detrimental effect on billing processes. Missteps with configuration, claims, coding, billing, and/or denial management could result in a gap in revenue lasting weeks or even months. Organizations need to invest in a formal RCM impact assessment. Our approach includes mapping out existing RCM/billing configurations, recreating those in NX, validating claims, confirming denial management is functioning properly, and running claims in parallel prior to go-live.

3. Custom Development and Scriptlink Compatibility

Organizations have invested heavily in RADplus enhancements, custom forms, custom Scriptlink applications, modifications to global library items, and other customizations, unfortunately, all of the customizations won’t convert seamlessly to myAvatar NX. Scriptlink applications may need to be rewritten; RADplus objects may need to be modified; Web services may need to be modified to accommodate NX’s connection/authentication processes, etc. It’s important to understand which applications/integrations will be affected before diving into NX. We conduct a thorough analysis to identify potential issues and develop strategies for resolving them before migrating.

4. Staff Readiness and Change Management

It’s important to recognize that clinical and administrative staff will be impacted by changes in workflows and system usability. Users can become frustrated and/or resistant when facing significant changes to their EHR without adequate training and change management. Common symptoms of an unprepared user base include a spike in support requests, decreased productivity, increased documentation errors, etc. Our approach includes role-based trainings prior to go-live, identifying key users/super users within departments, and heightened IT support (hypercare) for the first couple of weeks post go-live.

5. Underestimating Timeline and Scope

The most common mistake made by organizations is assuming the transition to NX is nothing more than a simple upgrade. As mentioned, NX is a full-blown migration impacting clinical workflows, integrations, customizations, reports, revenue cycle management, etc. It’s critical that the full impact is assessed, understood, and accounted for, and it is easy to underestimate the timeline and effort needed to address development, testing, data conversion, training, etc. requirements.

While migrating to myAvatar NX can feel overwhelming, The Joxel Group can help. Our team has been using myAvatar internally for over a decade and has supported dozens of behavioral-health organizations with Netsmart related projects including upgrades/migrations, RADplus development, data conversion, HIE reporting, myAvatar to primary care EHR interfaces, myAvatar to lab interfaces, quality measure development, dashboard/reporting optimization, etc.

Below is an abbreviated version of our proven upgrade/migration methodology, so reach out to us to learn more.

  • Phase 1, Assessment and Planning (4–8 weeks):
  • Phase 2, Environment Setup and Configuration (8–16 weeks):
  • Phase 3, Data Conversion and Validation (4–8 weeks):
  • Phase 4, Integration and Interface Testing (4–8 weeks):
  • Phase 5, User Acceptance Testing and Training (4–8 weeks):
  • Phase 6, Go-Live and Hypercare (2–4 weeks):

Ultimately, migrating to myAvatar NX should be an exciting time for your organization. There’s an opportunity to streamline processes, fix lingering configuration issues, implement meaningful enhancements, improve reporting/analytics capabilities, optimize revenue cycle management, etc. Don’t overlook these opportunities, so partner with a consultancy that understands myAvatar and can help you navigate your journey to NX.

Want to learn more? Check out some of the other resources on myAvatar NX..

With Netsmart announcing the inevitable upgrade to myAvatar NX for organizations on myAvatar, many behavioral-health organizations are starting to wonder:

  • What’s involved in the upgrade?
  • How long will it take?
  • What services do we need to make sure we’re successful?

Let’s start with the first two questions.

  • The state of New Hampshire originally targeted completing their move to NX by August of 2024, but have since announced that timeline extension to June of 2028.
  • The state of North Dakota recently created a oversight committee to oversee their myAvatar to myAvatar NX project.
  • The state of Nevada recently approved funding for their upgrade.
  • California counties are working on backend preparations.

At the organization level, we anticipate the myAvatar to myAvatar NX upgrade to take most organizations approximately 26 to 52 weeks, with complex and/or multiple implementations taking even longer than that. Here’s a high-level overview of a typical upgrade project timeline:

  • Phase 1, Assessment and Planning (4–8 weeks): Assess and document the current system’s configurations, customizations, integrations, and reports. Identify gaps, dependencies, and upgrade impacts. Finalize upgrade strategy, project plan, and resource needs.
  • Phase 2, Environment Setup and Configuration (8–16 weeks): Build and configure the NX test environment to match production needs. Update user roles, security, clinical, and billing setups. Start addressing customizations that might not carry over.
  • Phase 3, Data Conversion and Validation (4–8 weeks): Perform initial data conversions from myAvatar to NX, including master and historical data. Conduct thorough validation and reconciliation. Document discrepancies and perform iterative conversions until data is validated.
  • Phase 4, Integration and Interface Testing (4–8 weeks): Configure and test all interfaces, Web services, and integrations to ensure seamless data flow. Address issues in the test environment.
  • Phase 5, User Acceptance Testing and Training (4–8 weeks): Conduct UAT using real-world scenarios. Refine workflows and resolve any gaps. Prepare and execute user training plans.
  • Phase 6, Go-Live and Hypercare (2–4 weeks): Perform final conversions and readiness reviews. Execute cutover plan for migration to NX. Offer intensive post-go-live support and monitor for immediate improvements.

In addition to the significant UI updates in NX, including a more intuitive navigation experience, a more modern look-and-feel, an overall user-experience enhancement, improved dashboards and reporting, and updated clinical workflows, NX has many underlying architecture changes impacting customizations, reporting, integrations, etc. While your current myAvatar setup may have worked well over time, this upgrade provides an opportunity to refine configurations, improve workflows, and better align the EHR with current processes and organizational goals.

How The Joxel Group Supports myAvatar NX Upgrades

  • Upgrades Assessment: Understand what’s involved in your specific upgrade. We can help you better understand the technical pieces of the upgrade, including configurations, revenue cycle setup, customizations, and integrations, and provide a more complete project scope, timeline, and budget.
  • Project management: Many organizations use their own resources, but we can help if needed, including scope and timeline management, budget and resource management, and regular status updates for organizational leaders.
  • Data conversion services: Many organizations leverage internal resources for day-to-day project management and change management, but rely on technical resources for more in-depth technical pieces of the project, including data conversion, custom development changes, and revenue cycle testing. Our data conversion services include migration and testing, validation and reconciliation, and audit trails and compliance.
  • Customizations: Existing Scriptlink customizations, RADplus configuration, Web services, and other items won’t just “work” in NX, so these will likely need to be fixed. Our team has extensive myAvatar technical experience, including Scriptlink coding.
  • Revenue cycle changes/testing: The upgrade to NX will require a lot of RCM validation, including claims creation and billing. Our team has extensive revenue cycle experience, including denials management.
  • Change management/training: While the technical side of a project is critical, so is change management. Our team will help you identify super-users, create training materials, conduct training based on job roles, and provide hypercare support.

The myAvatar NX upgrade is going to be an inevitability. Are you ready? Reach out to The Joxel Group, as we have over a decade of myAvatar experience internally, and our team’s myAvatar expertise spans many more years. Visit thejoxelgroup.com or send an email to learn more.

The Bottom Line

While the move from Netsmart’s myAvatar EHR to myAvatar NX provides organizations with updated capabilities, including a more intuitive and efficient clinical experience, it’s critical to approach the upgrade with clear goals and technical expertise. By partnering with the right resources, organizations can mitigate risks and position themselves to get the most out of the investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is myAvatar NX? | myAvatar NX is Netsmart’s most recent release of its behavioral-health EHR system. The UX has a more intuitive and efficient clinical experience, among other enhancements.

How much will the upgrade to myAvatar NX cost? | While some of the cost is built into your maintenance agreement with Netsmart, it’s critical to understand what else is involved, including data conversion, customization updates, change management/training, and more. Reach out to The Joxel Group to learn more.

How long will the upgrade take? | We anticipate the myAvatar to myAvatar NX upgrade to take most organizations approximately 26 to 52 weeks, with complex and/or multiple implementations taking even longer than that. Reach out to The Joxel Group to learn more.

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