Perspective: It's the perfect storm for health IT in underserved populations
As computing power and IT capabilities continue to grow and improve, so do opportunities to modernize the U.S .healthcare system through application of these technologies—in order to foster the health and well being of individuals in underserved minority communities, according to a perspective paper published in the winter 2011 edition of Perspective in Health Information Management.
“2011 marks a period of great opportunity to increase the rate of EHR adoption because of recent policy and program initiatives and because of ongoing partnerships between the public and private sectors to make EHR adoption a reality throughout the U.S.,” stated authors Commander David A. Dietz, MSW, MHSA, senior public health advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH), and Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH, OMH deputy assistant secretary.
In any ongoing effort to improve the quality and utilization of health IT and EHRs, all involved constituencies must work cooperatively to ensure that these technologies arrive at the doorsteps of all healthcare providers, including minority providers and those who practice within underserved communities of color, stated the authors.
HHS agencies are orchestrating community-based and technological interventions that promise to increase the adoption of health IT within underserved communities of color, according to Dietz and Graham.
OMH and the National Health IT Collaborative (NHIT) have taken a community-based approach within many underserved communities of color through deploying a “boots on the ground” intervention. NHIT has produced “teach-ins” within several communities in order to educate healthcare providers on the merits of using EHRs.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has launched several programs to assist the adoption of health IT within underserved communities of color, the authors wrote. “The regional extension centers program, the health IT workforce development program and the creation of beacon communities all strive to provide improved health IT resources to underserved communities of color [by offering] access to experts who can expedite EHR adoption with the aim of creating a more robust workforce that can become an health IT resource to these communities.”
These examples provide an overview of the HHS commitment to improvement and dissemination of health IT and EHRs. “However, reaching national adoption goals and continuing to improve and develop innovative health IT practices and capabilities will require the cooperative effort of stakeholders throughout the country and across sectors,” Dietz and Graham concluded.
“2011 marks a period of great opportunity to increase the rate of EHR adoption because of recent policy and program initiatives and because of ongoing partnerships between the public and private sectors to make EHR adoption a reality throughout the U.S.,” stated authors Commander David A. Dietz, MSW, MHSA, senior public health advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH), and Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH, OMH deputy assistant secretary.
In any ongoing effort to improve the quality and utilization of health IT and EHRs, all involved constituencies must work cooperatively to ensure that these technologies arrive at the doorsteps of all healthcare providers, including minority providers and those who practice within underserved communities of color, stated the authors.
HHS agencies are orchestrating community-based and technological interventions that promise to increase the adoption of health IT within underserved communities of color, according to Dietz and Graham.
OMH and the National Health IT Collaborative (NHIT) have taken a community-based approach within many underserved communities of color through deploying a “boots on the ground” intervention. NHIT has produced “teach-ins” within several communities in order to educate healthcare providers on the merits of using EHRs.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has launched several programs to assist the adoption of health IT within underserved communities of color, the authors wrote. “The regional extension centers program, the health IT workforce development program and the creation of beacon communities all strive to provide improved health IT resources to underserved communities of color [by offering] access to experts who can expedite EHR adoption with the aim of creating a more robust workforce that can become an health IT resource to these communities.”
These examples provide an overview of the HHS commitment to improvement and dissemination of health IT and EHRs. “However, reaching national adoption goals and continuing to improve and develop innovative health IT practices and capabilities will require the cooperative effort of stakeholders throughout the country and across sectors,” Dietz and Graham concluded.