Khalid Al-Maskari Of Health Information Management Systems (HiMS) On The Benefits of Using a Family Approach for Treating Bipolar Disorder
An Interview with Stephanie Greer
Invest in crisis stabilization units for communities so people will have somewhere to go where they can recover from a crisis. These units are used to ensure the patient is adequately treated and recovers from their trauma.
Bipolar Disorder, a condition that affects millions around the world, not only impacts the individual diagnosed but also their surrounding family. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the journey towards mental wellness is not solely an individual pursuit but a collective one. Incorporating family perspectives and integrating a family approach in treatment methodologies can be pivotal in achieving holistic healing and stability. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Khalid Al-Maskari — CEO and Founder of Health Information Management Systems (HiMS).
With 20+ years in health care, Khalid Al-Maskari is considered a thought leader by peers in the integrated health care field. As Chief Executive Officer of Health Information Management Systems (HiMS), Khalid rapidly grew the company from a single Tucson-based customer to achieve a multi-state presence. As a goal-oriented executive with demonstrated experience in planning, developing, and implementing innovative technologies and information solutions that serve the diverse needs of integrated health populations, Khalid likes to inspire his team to think big. Always striving to add to his knowledge base, Khalid sought out certification opportunities. He earned his MBA in Healthcare Administration and achieved certifications in project management, Microsoft Products, CISSP and several others. Nationally, Khalid went on to provide assistance and guidance as co-chair for CCHIT’s Security Workgroup as a result of implementation of HIPAA rules, and was an Electronic Health Records Security proctor for several years.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Marcus Aurelius once said, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” This is something that I practice in both personal and professional settings. It simplified for me how anything can be viewed as a way to move forward even if we initially feel that we can’t. We need to embrace the obstacles and find ways to work towards our goals regardless of the obstacles, and to keep an open mind about what we need to do to overcome life’s obstacles.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. It is often said that “the mental health system in America is broken”. What does that statement mean to you? From your perspective what is “broken” today?
Many people in need of mental health help are unable to access it. The burden falls disproportionately on those people without the financial ability to pay for these services out of pocket, and providers are being incentivized to see higher volumes of patients per hour with shorter visit times and inadequate support systems.
Also, each state’s approach to treating and funding mental health care is different, based upon funding sources and state regulations. We have a fragmented system that is failing too many people in serious need.
What about any bright spots? Do you think there are any elements that we get right in today’s world that we wouldn’t want to reverse unintentionally?
As behavioral health has become more integrated with primary health care, we’ve seen a rise in care coordination to deliver the services in different settings, such as schools, clinics, etc. Technology has now made it possible to deliver care plans, track care transitions and patient needs using a mobile phone to collaborate and communicate among the treatment team. I think tech is one of the bright spots that enables the delivery of care to patients who are high needs or have existing health comorbidities that are made worse by a combination of mental health and substance abuse.
I believe there are many people who work in the integrated health field because they are driven to help others manage their symptoms or get better. These front-line workers — case managers, clinicians and peer support specialists — are the backbone of the care delivery system and are also its greatest strength. How do we best leverage this compassion and desire to help others without burning them out and placing so many restrictive demands on the delivery of care?
In your opinion, what are the 5 most impactful things that could help heal the broken mental health system? These could be on any level including training, workforce, policy, culture, equity etc.
1 . I’m obviously biased in this respect, but understanding how technology can make the delivery of integrated health care services better, faster and more effective and engaging with the right tech to help get the job done.
2 . True alignment of reimbursement to Quality-based care built on patient and community needs. The one size fits all approach doesn’t work well in Integrated healthcare, and tools and technologies exist or incentives should be provided to create these tools.
3 . Flatten the hierarchies and layers of service delivery and investing in service delivery agencies to close the gaps in services and payments and focusing on frontline workers to reduce the workforce churn rate.
4 . Invest in early intervention and prevention programs. This is especially crucial with our youth populations so we can pinpoint and treat issues before they become a full-blown crisis.
5 . Invest in crisis stabilization units for communities so people will have somewhere to go where they can recover from a crisis. These units are used to ensure the patient is adequately treated and recovers from their trauma.
If all of the items on your list were magically implemented tomorrow what change might we see in the world? What are the signs (big and small) that would show us that the system is being healed?
I think the results would show up in the percentage of patients who are actually making progress and getting better and higher satisfaction rate from the clinical and patient sides.
What is a project you or others are working on today that gives you hope? How can our readers learn more about this work?
I feel really good about the work we’re doing to advance EHR software technology. Since their invention, EHR systems have demanded too much time and attention from clinicians, drawing their focus away from patients, adding hours of clerical work to their nights and weekends, and fostering dangerous clinician burnout. This administrative burden affects quality of care, patient safety and access to care.
That’s why we developed Axiom, an EHR platform that’s a real game-changer for the industry. We’ve built Axiom to be user-friendly and flexible, with AI capabilities that nearly eliminate administrative burdens so that clinicians can efficiently deliver compassionate care. What’s more, our Axiom EHR software is configurable and customizable by role. We have new exciting advancements coming soon. But overall, Axiom gives me hope that we’re easing the burdens on clinicians. The advances we have made and continue to build on will have a meaningful impact on clinicians’ jobs and free them up to focus on the important work of supporting their patients in the best way possible.
How do you see technology shaping the future of mental health care and its accessibility?
We are still at the beginning of seeing how technologies like AI and machine learning can benefit the integrated health care field — an industry riddled with extensive paperwork and inefficiencies. Imagine a time where you have a conversation with one health care provider and all of those details are made available to each of your providers instantly, offering a true integrated health approach that allows for real-time collaboration and a holistic approach to your care. It sounds so simple but isn’t always available. Technology partners who focus on helping clinicians make better data-driven decisions make this possible.
In your view, how do social factors like poverty, education, and culture affect mental health care and its effectiveness?
Access to care has been a big impediment for some. We need to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities to get treatment regardless if they’re a Medicaid or a private pay patient. The equality of opportunity extended to care would go a long way in successfully treating patients via universal access.
In light of the growing mental health crisis among young people, what innovative approaches or interventions have proven most successful for children and adolescents?
There’s a local company in Tucson who developed “The PAX Good Behavior Game.” It’s an evidence-based behavioral classroom management strategy the teaches children how to work together to create a positive learning environment. The way it works is that it rewards children via positive reinforcement for displaying appropriate on-task behaviors in the classroom.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. 🙂
I would have loved to have a private breakfast/lunch with John McCarthy, who was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence. He actually passed away in 2011. I would like to have asked him how he developed the earliest time-sharing systems (now we call it cloud computing). He was an incredible visionary in the field of computer science.
Thank you for your time and thoughtful answers. I know many people will gain so much from hearing this.
About The Interviewer: Stephanie Greer, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Akin Mental Health — a company dedicated to guiding families on their journey supporting a loved one with mental health challenges like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. Stephanie is passionate about this topic from her own personal experience growing up with a mother who struggled with bipolar 1 disorder and found a path forward to overcome the obstacles and live well. Stephanie’s professional experience includes a doctorate in neuroscience as well as design research roles at Hopelab and Apple. Stephanie brings this personal passion together with her world-class science and technology background to support families across the US in their personal journeys supporting loved ones with mental illness. To learn more about Akin Mental Health and join our community, visit us at akinmh.com.
Khalid Al-Maskari Of Health Information Management Systems (HiMS) On The Benefits of Using a Family… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.