Coming out of the dog days of summer, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is gathering steam to roll out the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs).
The Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is the gift that keeps on giving. With ONC's new announcement Sept. 10 of $20 million for rural and critical access hospitals, it has released a total of $663 million for regional extension centers.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the nearly $20 million is intended to help some 1,655 critical access and rural hospitals in 41 states and the nationwide Indian Country qualify for EHR adoption incentives. The help will come by way of regional extension centers located in rural areas.
Sebelius said the funding represents "a new category of support," aimed specifically at helping critical access and rural hospitals with their particular needs and challenges.
David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health information technology said, "regional Extension Centers are poised to provide the hands-on, field support needed by healthcare providers to advance the rapid adoption and use of health IT." Many rural hospitals face broadband access as a barrier to EHR adoption, he said.
ONC also made two big announcements over the past month of so.
On Sept. 2, ONC named Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge, Inc. in Cincinnati and Southeastern Michigan Health Association in Detroit as the final two Beacon Communities. Between them, ONC is granting $30 million. They join 15 other Beacon Communities that will pilot ways to improve population health with healthcare IT.
ONC announced on Aug. 30 the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and The Drummond Group will be the first two Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs) to test and certify electronic health record systems to qualify for meaningful use incentives. Following that announcement, Austin, Texas-based Weno Healthcare Inc. announced its application to become an ATCB.
