Proem Health Blog

Multiple Hospitals in Estonia Pilot Proem Behavioral Health

Written by Holly Wilson | Sep 9, 2024

Use of the digital Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) streamlines administering of mental health screening and assessments at participating Estonia Hospitals

ATLANTA, September 9, 2024 Proem Behavioral Health, developer of the evidence-based clinical workflow support engine that helps efficiently and accurately screen, test and measure treatment success for those suffering from mental illness, is pleased to announce that three hospitals in the European country of Estonia are participating in a pilot project. 

The hospitals — Tartu University Hospital, North Estonia Medical Center and Ida-Viru Central Hospital — are using the Proem platform to help standardize and expedite care for individuals with mental illness. The hospitals identified Proem as an ideal partner because they were using the paper and PDF versions of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) to conduct screenings of patients upon admission. The Proem platform includes the licensed digital version of the M.I.N.I.  

"We were extremely happy to learn about an electronic version of the M.I.N.I.," says Dr. Andres Lehtmets. "The addition of Proem and use of the digital M.I.N.I. is a wonderful opportunity for us to improve how we assess our patients."  

Estonia, like most countries, has seen a rise in the number of people seeking mental health care. This growing demand has prompted an increase in funding toward mental health from the country's single payer healthcare system, including money for innovation projects. The hospitals applied for and received innovation project funding that went toward adding Proem. 

Richard Jalakas, IT project manager of Tartu University Hospital, says moving to the digital M.I.N.I. is helping address a significant challenge across the hospitals: different approaches to how mental illness is assessed. "The electronic M.I.N.I. is a great tool because it covers many potential mental health illnesses and brings consistency to our assessments," Jalakas says. "The automatic scoring helps decrease a lot of errors, and report generation is so fast and easy compared to the paper and PDF versions." 

Jalakas says he also appreciates the effort of the Proem team to make adoption of the platform and digital M.I.N.I. simple. While the Proem user interface is in English, the assessments have been translated into Estonian and can be translated to any language at the request of a client. "The system is so accessible for our nurses, and there's never been any downtime," he says. "Whenever we have questions, we get answers very quickly." 

"Estonia is at the forefront of health care technology innovation, having been the first country to implement a nationwide electronic health record system," explains John Letter, chief executive officer of Proem. "We are pleased that these hospitals identified Proem as a progressive solution that supports their goals of improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. Our team looks forward to continuing to support Estonia as the platform is rolled out across the country and ensuring Proem is empowering the hospitals’ clinical staff to strengthen the delivery of mental health care." 


ABOUT PROEM BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Proem Behavioral Health provides the premier clinical workflow software engine that helps health care providers, substance use disorder clinics and research organizations efficiently and accurately screen, test and measure treatment success for those suffering from mental illness. Proem is the exclusive digital licensee worldwide of gold-standard, evidence-based screening tools, structured interviews and post-diagnosis severity measurement scales to monitor patient outcomes. To learn more, visit proemhealth.com and follow Proem on LinkedIn and X.