Regional Extension Centers gain commitment from providers to advance America's health care
At the ONC Annual Meeting on Nov. 17, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced that the network of 62 Health IT Regional Extension Centers (RECs) achieved one of its first major milestones – gaining commitments from 100,000 primary care providers (PCPs) to adopt electronic health records in a meaningful way. As part of this network of RECs, HITArkansas enrolled more than 1,000 primary care providers in Arkansas. Representing roughly one-third of all PCPs in the United States, these 100,000 providers are building the foundation of a fully-electronic healthcare system.
“This is an enormous milestone for America’s health care providers,” said Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator for health information technology at ONC. “EHR-enabled providers are taking the first steps in transforming health care in the United States, enhancing the safety and quality of care for patients. We would not have been able to accomplish this without the hard work of regional extension centers across the country.”
Primary care providers are the foundation of America’s health care system as they are often the patient’s first point of contact for health care and can be the center of the patient’s care network. EHR-enabled PCPs allow clinicians to share more accurate, complete information and better coordinate patient care across specialists, hospitals and other health care providers. As EHR technologies become more widely adopted by providers and reach their full potential, patients will be able to access their own health information and become empowered partners in their medical care.
“I saw EHR implementation as a way to serve my patients better and improve the efficiency of my practice,” said Dr. Richard Lochala, who works with HITArkansas. “HITArkansas has been a great partner in helping us improve how we track a patient’s medical progress and coordinate care.”
HITArkansas, a division of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, believes in establishing and building relationships with providers and practice staff who are ready to make the transition to an EHR system. During the enrollment process, HITArkansas’ expert specialists take the time to meet with practice staff to discuss services and provide them with detailed information about how the HITArkansas team can help them improve patient health outcomes and reduce health costs by meaningfully using technology.
“This milestone of reaching 100,000 signed providers nationwide is tremendous,” said Ray Hanley, president and CEO of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. “We are proud of our staff at HITArkansas for their hard work and proud of the Arkansas providers who have made the commitment to offer their patients better care by implementing an electronic health record system.”
Since February 2010, HITArkansas has been using its broad health IT expertise to help PCPs, who face unique and complex challenges with EHR adoption, make a smooth transition to their EHR goals. Because all practices are different, HITArkansas gears its support to meet each practice’s specific needs – from identifying financial resources to negotiating with EHR vendors to redesigning office workflow.
“We have witnessed, firsthand, providers making significant strides in switching to an electronically-enabled practice,” said Ancil Lea, director of HITArkansas. “The 1,000-plus providers who have partnered with our REC are leading the way for the Arkansas medical community in meeting the meaningful use EHR criteria, ultimately leading to improved patient health care.”
Throughout the country, RECs are working with providers in different practice settings to ensure widespread adoption of electronic health records. While RECs mainly assist primary care providers, they also work with specialists such as cardiologists. The Regional Extension Centers leverage their broad health IT experience to provide assistance to clinicians working in practices of various sizes and in both urban and rural settings.
As part of its EHR Incentives Program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defined meaningful use criteria to ensure providers use a certified EHR system to:
- Exchange health information as part of coordinated care
- Report clinical quality care measures
- Utilize electronic medical services such as e-prescribing
HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT
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