Univ. of Mich. Health System to help physicians switch to EHRs
Physicians in West Michigan will get help transitioning to EHRs and qualifying for federal incentive dollars due to a partnership with the Physician Organization of Michigan (POM) and the Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption (M-CEITA).
The University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor and the Physicians’ Organization of Western Michigan (POWM) founded POM last year to help physicians and physician groups throughout Michigan remain independent and participate in clinical integration and quality improvement initiatives.
“We are developing partnerships with M-CEITA and others, so that independent physicians and medical groups will have access to IT and administrative and clinical services to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment without the need for employment by a large healthcare system,” says David Spahlinger, MD, executive director of the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice.
M-CEITA is Michigan’s health IT regional extension center which helps healthcare providers navigate the EHR marketplace.
Ann Arbor-based Altarum Institute was awarded a grant of nearly $20 million to establish M-CEITA, which will assist 200 POWM physicians with the EHR selection process. Its technical specialists will help minimize the loss of productivity during the electronic record transformation and help practices meet the aggressive federal timelines and criteria required to receive meaningful use incentive payments.
Physicians who participate in POM through their physician organizations can choose to become a “Colleague in Care.” In addition to access to M-CEITA resources, this status will ultimately give them full access to a clinically integrated network of physicians with an EHR system, support for business functions and marketing, and systems to track quality, the university stated.
The University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor and the Physicians’ Organization of Western Michigan (POWM) founded POM last year to help physicians and physician groups throughout Michigan remain independent and participate in clinical integration and quality improvement initiatives.
“We are developing partnerships with M-CEITA and others, so that independent physicians and medical groups will have access to IT and administrative and clinical services to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment without the need for employment by a large healthcare system,” says David Spahlinger, MD, executive director of the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice.
M-CEITA is Michigan’s health IT regional extension center which helps healthcare providers navigate the EHR marketplace.
Ann Arbor-based Altarum Institute was awarded a grant of nearly $20 million to establish M-CEITA, which will assist 200 POWM physicians with the EHR selection process. Its technical specialists will help minimize the loss of productivity during the electronic record transformation and help practices meet the aggressive federal timelines and criteria required to receive meaningful use incentive payments.
Physicians who participate in POM through their physician organizations can choose to become a “Colleague in Care.” In addition to access to M-CEITA resources, this status will ultimately give them full access to a clinically integrated network of physicians with an EHR system, support for business functions and marketing, and systems to track quality, the university stated.