Guest post by: Medicat
College counseling centers are at a crossroads. Student demand for mental health services continues to rise, but staffing and resources often struggle to keep pace.
According to the American College Health Assessment’s Spring 2025 National College Health Assessment, more than 70% of students reported being diagnosed or treated for anxiety, and over half reported depression. This data highlights an urgent need to optimize workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and ensure care remains accessible when demand peaks.
The data your Electronic Health Record (EHR) collects can be key to navigating this challenge. Moreover, when used strategically, EHR insights can help leaders understand usage trends, anticipate peak times, and make smarter, more equitable decisions about service delivery - all while strengthening partnerships with referral networks like ThrivingCampus.
Modern EHR systems do more than help providers document visits. They reveal patterns that can inform resource planning to help your clinic have a bigger impact on student well-being. For example, directors can use data on visit types, no-show rates, and peak demand to identify where support is needed most.
Your EHR data can highlight shifts in the types of mental health visits occurring on campus. For instance, a rise in crisis appointments or shorter same-day sessions.
These insights ensure your staffing models and care approaches evolve with your students’ changing needs.
Every no-show represents a missed opportunity for care and lost time for clinicians. EHR reporting can uncover why and when these no-shows occur.
Identifying trends helps directors pilot solutions such as text reminders, telehealth check-ins, or flexible scheduling. Even small adjustments informed by data can dramatically improve access and continuity of care.
Many centers experience predictable surges in appointment requests. For example, September adjustment stress, November burnout, or spring midterms. Your EHR should make it easier to visualize those demand cycles each year.
Directors can use that data to:
Use of this data turns reactive service delivery into a proactive, student-centered model.
Even with optimized scheduling and staffing, many college counseling centers face capacity limits. That is where referral platforms like ThrivingCampus become essential.
The insights gained from integrating your EHR with community referral data can build a continuum of care that ensures students receive timely support, whether on campus or off. For example:
This data-informed approach does not replace personal care - it enhances it. The goal is to connect each student with the right level of support at the right time.
To get the most from your EHR analytics, campus leaders should:
When data is accessible and actionable, it empowers teams to make evidence-based decisions that improve both student outcomes and staff well-being.
The most effective campus mental health strategies combine technology, data, and collaboration.
EHR insights help health directors understand how, when, and why students seek care. ThrivingCampus expands that care network beyond campus boundaries. Together, they create a connected, data-informed ecosystem that supports students holistically, no matter where they are on their wellness journey.
Medicat is the #1 EHR software provider and industry leader in College Health EHR with a reputation for outstanding support that has helped Medicat earn a near 100% customer retention rate. Student health and counseling clinics use Medicat to support practice management, documentation, workflow automation, and the student experience, enabling providers to do what they do best - keep students healthy.