Methods: An internet-based web system facilitates data entry and management, report generation, and care management. Compiled programs reside on the clinicians' PCs and interact with the electronic medical record. When a clinician accesses the record of a patient, an interactive pop-up window is displayed. The window displays the patient's current status including key symptoms and side-effects, compliance with treatment, stressors, medical needs and psychosocial functioning. The window also provides one-click access to treatment guidelines and allows communication between treatment team members.

Significance: Typically, there is little clinical information contained in medical records of patients with severe, persistent mental illness. This prevents accurate quality assessment or outcomes management. Also, information systems can rarely help clinicians in real time. This system can help with these problems.

Impact: MINT should be useful in a wide variety of quality improvement and clinical activities. Broad dissemination is affordable.

Current status: A functioning version of MINT has been developed. Further development is ongoing.

Principal Investigators:
Alexander S. Young, MD, MSHS;
Jim Mintz, PhD

Sponsored by:
VA Health Services Research & Development Service;
VA Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)