Behavioral health EHR integration
Digital Scientists connects behavioral health EHRs to telehealth, patient apps and analytics, with 42 CFR Part 2 consent designed in. For Kipu, we built a FHIR R4 gateway on the open-source HAPI FHIR stack and tested it end to end against emulators; it's waiting on production credentials and isn't live yet. For Fathers' UpLift we built a custom EHR in eight weeks that syncs with Tebra for demographics and billing. Most providers start with a Blueprint or a week-one integration check that proves the connection before the build.
Updated
Kipu gateway built and tested, waiting on production credentials
Fathers' UpLift, Blueprint and custom EHR MVP
Behavioral health added to NeverAlone
NeverAlone calls a year, on video we built and run
Do you integrate with Kipu and other behavioral health EHRs?
Kipu: built and tested, not live yet. We built a FHIR R4 gateway for it on the open-source HAPI FHIR stack, tested it end to end against emulators, and we're waiting on production credentials.
We say exactly that because the difference matters when you're picking a partner. Here's what is in production today. NeverAlone, the 24/7 virtual care platform we built and run, pulls patient data from PointClickCare and Netsmart (GEHRIMED) and runs real-time video on AWS Chime. For Fathers' UpLift we built a custom EHR that syncs with Tebra for demographics and billing.
For other behavioral health EHRs, it's a capability. We can integrate with any system that has an API, a standard interface or a reliable export, and we prove the connection before the build depends on it. The table labels each system by status. For every system family we connect, see healthcare integrations.
Where each behavioral health connection stands
| System | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Kipu | FHIR R4 gateway on HAPI FHIR, connecting Kipu to NeverAlone telehealth | Built and tested against emulators; waiting on production credentials |
| PointClickCare and Netsmart (GEHRIMED) | Patient data into NeverAlone, with the same patient matched across both EHRs | Production |
| Tebra | Demographics, claims and charge capture synced from the Fathers' UpLift EHR | Delivered |
| AWS Chime | Real-time video on NeverAlone | Production |
| Zoom | Video sessions launched from inside the Fathers' UpLift EHR | Delivered |
| Other behavioral health EHRs | Any system with an API, a standard interface or a reliable export | Capability |
Production: we run it today. Delivered: we built and shipped it for the client. Capability: we haven't connected that system in production yet.
What will the Kipu integration do once it's live?
It's designed to bring Kipu patients and appointments into NeverAlone, so counseling and therapy sessions start from the schedule, and to send session notes back to the chart.
The first program on it is substance use disorder counseling and behavioral health therapy delivered by telehealth on NeverAlone. FHIR R4 is the current version of FHIR, the web API standard built on resources such as Patient and Appointment. The cards show how the pieces fit.
The gateway
Purpose-built connectors around the open-source Java HAPI FHIR stack. A resource service turns FHIR requests into backend calls, including multi-step "$everything" requests for a full patient record.
Patients and appointments
Kipu stays the record. Patients and scheduled sessions flow into NeverAlone, so staff don't copy links or attendance between two systems.
Notes back to the chart
Session documentation returns to Kipu, so the clinician's record stays complete after a telehealth visit.
Tested before go-live
No live Kipu source was available, so we built emulators and ran the FHIR R4 workflows end to end. Production credentials are the remaining dependency.
How do you handle 42 CFR Part 2 in an integration?
We put consent, redisclosure and segmentation into the data model before the first feed runs. 42 CFR Part 2 is the federal rule that protects records from federally assisted substance use disorder programs, and it sits on top of HIPAA.
An integration is where Part 2 goes wrong, because data leaves one system for another. So every outbound call checks what the patient agreed to and who is asking. On NeverAlone we maintain HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 compliance documentation, so security questionnaires get answered from records. Your counsel decides how Part 2 applies to your program; we build the software to that reading. The rule-by-rule design is on our security and PHI page.
Consent
Stored as data on the record: scope, recipient, date and revocation. Every disclosure, export and feed checks it first.
Redisclosure
The required notice travels with each consented disclosure, and outbound feeds filter on consent scope and the recipient.
Segmentation
Part 2 records are tagged at intake by source program. The tags follow the data into reports, integrations and any AI that reads it.
Audit
SUD counseling notes get their own consent check, and every access to a Part 2 record lands in the audit log.
Can therapy sessions run on top of the EHR you already use?
Yes. Video runs on AWS Chime, the same stack behind NeverAlone's 100,000+ calls a year, and the EHR stays the record.
Most behavioral health providers don't want a new EHR. They want one-to-one counseling, intensive outpatient and group sessions by video, started from the schedule they already keep. That's what the EHR connection is for: the appointment opens the session, and attendance and notes go back to the chart. Clinicians work from one schedule, and nobody retypes a session into a second system.
NeverAlone has run 24/7 since March 2021 and added behavioral health by August 2023. Phone access for sessions is scoped per project: we work out the carrier, recording and consent rules in the Blueprint before we commit to them. See telemedicine app development for the video platform itself.
NeverAlone calls a year on AWS Chime video
Patients across six states
Live, and run by us since
Behavioral health added
Behavioral health work we built
Fathers' UpLift
8 weeks to a custom EHR
Blueprint and MVP for a Boston mental health program: notes, caseloads, charge capture synced to Tebra, and Zoom sessions in one hub.
See the work
NeverAlone · CommuniCare
Behavioral health added by August 2023
A 24/7 virtual care platform on AWS Chime video that began as a 90-day MVP and serves 30,000 patients across six states. It's the platform our Kipu gateway connects to. We still run it.
See the workWhen does a behavioral health provider build its own EHR?
When the care model doesn't fit any EHR on the market. Fathers' UpLift is the example: Blueprint and MVP in eight weeks, with billing kept in Tebra.
Fathers' UpLift is a Boston mental health program where licensed clinicians work alongside trained coaches. Providers documented in Tebra, an EHR built for medical offices, tracked clients in Google Sheets and ran intake through JotForm. We built the UpLift Tracker around their model, and kept Tebra as the billing system of record. See the custom EHR case study.
Tebra sync
The EHR syncs with Tebra's SOAP API for patient demographics, billing claims and charge capture.
Zoom sessions
Coaches and clinicians start video sessions from inside the record.
One hub
Notes, service plans, a full caseload view and charge capture replace three disconnected tools.
Where do behavioral health providers usually start?
With a Blueprint or a week-one integration check, scoped to the hardest connection. We pull that risk forward: partner access, real data and the Part 2 consent model come first.
Integrations set their own calendar. Vendor partner programs, production credentials and BAAs take longer than the code, so we start them on day one. The table shows common starting points.
Common starting points for behavioral health EHR integration
| What's going on | Common first step | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| You run Kipu and want telehealth or a patient app tied to it | A week-one check of your Kipu partner access, data flows and consent rules | The integration, built on the FHIR R4 gateway we've already tested |
| You run another behavioral health EHR | A week-one check: API, standard interface or export, on a real data sample under a BAA | A connector with retries, monitoring and an audit trail |
| Your EHR doesn't fit your care model | Blueprint: roles, client journey and billing, with a clickable prototype | A custom EHR MVP. Fathers' UpLift did Blueprint and MVP in eight weeks |
| A partner or payer wants your data, and some of it is SUD records | Blueprint that tags Part 2 records and designs consent checks on each feed | The feed, built to your counsel's reading of Part 2 |
These are common starting points, not rules. Blueprints run 4 to 6 weeks.
Trusted by healthcare leaders.
“Thank you to the Digital Scientists team, this has been a long time coming! We finally have something that will be useful for our team so I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your hard work and your diligence. You took an idea and made it come to life!”
Dr. Charles Clayton Daniels Jr.
CEO & Founder, Fathers' UpLift
“I have worked with many technology teams during my career, and Digital Scientists is one of the best. They take the time to understand the customers' needs, deliver innovative solutions, are always professional, and work with your team as a true partner to achieve success.”
Amy Severino
Chief Innovation Officer, NeverAlone
Related integration and behavioral health pages
Healthcare integrations
EHR, behavioral health, labs, CRM, payers and claims.
Healthcare integrations →FHIR and HL7 integration
FHIR R4, US Core, SMART on FHIR and HL7 v2, and when each fits.
FHIR and HL7 integration →EHR integration
PointClickCare and Netsmart (GEHRIMED) in production.
EHR integration →Pharmacy integration
E-prescribing, NCPDP SCRIPT and pharmacy systems.
Pharmacy integration →Behavioral health and SUD providers
Custom EHRs, telehealth and apps for therapy and SUD treatment.
Behavioral health and SUD providers →Security and PHI
BAAs, a NIST CSF 2.0 security plan and 42 CFR Part 2 design.
Security and PHI →Related reading
Questions about behavioral health EHR integration
Does Kipu have an API?
Access runs through Kipu: the production credentials come from Kipu, not from the provider alone. We built a FHIR R4 gateway on the open-source HAPI FHIR stack for a Kipu integration and tested it end to end against emulators. It isn't live yet; it's waiting on production credentials. If Kipu is your EHR, we'll show you where that work stands and confirm your data flows before the build depends on them.
How do you handle Part 2 consent?
As data. Consent is stored on the record with scope, recipient, date and revocation, and every disclosure, export and feed checks it first. Part 2 records are tagged at intake, the redisclosure notice travels with each consented disclosure, and every access is logged. Your counsel decides how 42 CFR Part 2 applies to your program; we build to that decision.
Can therapy sessions run from EHR appointments?
That's what the Kipu integration is designed for: appointments in the EHR start NeverAlone video sessions on AWS Chime, and notes go back to the chart. It goes live when the production credentials arrive. For Fathers' UpLift, clinicians and coaches already start Zoom sessions from inside the custom EHR we built.
Which behavioral health EHRs can you connect to?
Any system with an API, a standard interface such as FHIR, or a reliable export. Kipu is built and tested on our side and waiting on credentials. Tebra is delivered for Fathers' UpLift. For a behavioral health EHR we haven't connected in production, we prove the connection in a week-one check, on real data under a BAA, before you commit to the build.
How long does a behavioral health EHR integration take?
The vendor sets most of the calendar. Partner programs, production credentials, security questionnaires and BAAs take longer than the code, which is why we start them on day one. After the week-one check you get a dated plan and a written estimate.
Who supports the integration after launch?
We do, on platforms we built. Digital Scientists provides L2 and L3 support, with alerts on errors and missing feeds, while your team or your IT provider handles first-line questions. When you're ready, we hand it over on a build-operate-transfer plan. See platform operations.
Talk it over
Tell us what you are trying to do. A senior person from our Atlanta team replies within one business day, and you can book a 30-minute call right after you send this.
- We tell you if we're the right fit, and if we're not, who is.
- Most work starts small, so you see how we work before you commit to more.
- We sign a BAA before we touch patient data.