AHIMA: Regional centers working toward meaningful use
Nearly two years ago, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) embarked on an ambitious initiative to encourage 100,000 primary care providers to implement EHR systems in their practices. With only one full month to go, the ONC is expected to meet its goal, but the ultimate objective of meaningful use is still a long way off.
According to an article published in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association, 90,000 providers had enrolled with a regional extension center (REC) established by the ONC by September, but only 1,000 had achieved meaningful use.
To accomplish its goal, the ONC aggressively developed a network of RECs across the country that would target providers with small-scale operations and provide them with the training and technical assistance necessary for them to meaningfully use EHRs, which would qualify them for financial incentives.
According to the article, RECs have encountered a number of difficulties, including a lack of qualified staff members, problems marketing the discounted services they offer and resistance from providers with no appetites for change.
“By and large we are trying to change the healthcare workflow for a lot of different practices, and the magnitude of the task is…a tremendously difficult, heavy lift," Mat Kendall, ONC’s director of provider adoption, told the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association.
Despite setbacks experienced by most RECs, some have been successful, according to the article, and Kendall is optimistic that providers receiving assistance from RECs will achieve meaningful use in the near future.
“We are really looking forward to when providers begin hitting meaningful use in large numbers, and we think that will be soon," he concluded.
According to an article published in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association, 90,000 providers had enrolled with a regional extension center (REC) established by the ONC by September, but only 1,000 had achieved meaningful use.
To accomplish its goal, the ONC aggressively developed a network of RECs across the country that would target providers with small-scale operations and provide them with the training and technical assistance necessary for them to meaningfully use EHRs, which would qualify them for financial incentives.
According to the article, RECs have encountered a number of difficulties, including a lack of qualified staff members, problems marketing the discounted services they offer and resistance from providers with no appetites for change.
“By and large we are trying to change the healthcare workflow for a lot of different practices, and the magnitude of the task is…a tremendously difficult, heavy lift," Mat Kendall, ONC’s director of provider adoption, told the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association.
Despite setbacks experienced by most RECs, some have been successful, according to the article, and Kendall is optimistic that providers receiving assistance from RECs will achieve meaningful use in the near future.
“We are really looking forward to when providers begin hitting meaningful use in large numbers, and we think that will be soon," he concluded.