Outlook Associates will help the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) with drafting specifications for the system, assisting the vendor selection process and overseeing implementation.

Set to begin in late 2007, Los Angeles County and the DMH have planned a year-long system implementation and rollout to convert disparate paper-based systems to an integrated and secure, HIPAA-compliant electronic medical records system. This is expected to help improve the overall quality of mental health services for nearly 200,000 patients in Los Angeles County.

This new system not only allows clinicians in various locations to track the

care of the mentally ill, it will help minimize healthcare errors and reduce costs, said Robert Greenless, CIO with the LA county department of mental health.