EHR INCENTIVES

The Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Incentive Programs provide incentive payments to eligible providers, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals as they adopt, implement, and meaningfully use certified EHR technology.

Physicians may receive either Medicaid or Medicare incentives, but not both in the same year, and they may switch once between programs. Hospitals can enroll in both programs at the same time. Federal regulations establish criteria for three stages of meaningful use that providers and hospitals must achieve before receiving full incentive payments.

REGIONAL EXTENSION CENTERS

HITECH funded 62 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the US to help more than 100,000 primary care providers and critical access hospitals adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records (EHRs). RECs offer a variety of services, including EHR system selection, implementation assistance, project management, training, and ongoing technical assistance. Four RECs were established in California: California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization (CalHIPSO), CalOptima Regional Extension Center (COREC), Health Information Technology Extension Center for Los Angeles (HITEC-LA), and California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB).

HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE

In March 2010, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) launched its State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program to accelerate states' efforts to enable the exchange of health information electronically. Awards totaling $548 million were provided to 56 states and US territories to create health information exchange (HIE) infrastructure and to accelerate HIE efforts supporting the EHR Incentive Program. The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) was awarded a $38.8 million cooperative agreement grant by ONC in February 2010.

BEACON COMMUNITY

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology established the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program to show how health information technology investments and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) can improve care and lower costs.

The San Diego Beacon Community (SDBC), one of only 17 Beacon communities in the US and the only one in California, is a partnership between health care providers, hospitals, clinics, emergency medical services (EMS), and health care organizations. SDBC’s goals are to expand electronic health information exchange to enable providers to improve medical care decisions and overall care quality, to empower patients to engage in their own health management, and to reduce unnecessary and redundant testing.

TELEHEALTH

Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technology and specially adapted equipment to provide health care. Like electronic health records, it has the potential to improve health care delivery by expanding access to care and more efficiently using resources. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded telehealth initiatives through programs separate from HITECH, including the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that invested approximately $4 billion in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. BTOP funds went to 233 projects nationwide to support the development of broadband capacity in rural and underserved communities to enable provider practices, clinics, and health centers to exchange health care information.

In September 2010, the California Telehealth Network received a $9.1 million BTOP grant and $5 million in matching funds for telehealth equipment and training.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) funded the Workforce Development Program to train IT professionals to help providers implement electronic health records and achieve meaningful use. One of four initiatives making up the program, the Community College Consortia's national goal is to train more than 10,500 new health IT professionals.

The Western Region Health IT Program, a consortium made up of community colleges from Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii, is one of five Community College Consortia regions in the US funded by the ONC. The program is administered by the Los Rios Business and Economic Development Center in Sacramento.