Regional extension centers program

Tzall U. Guerin and S. Bracken II and S. Supreme Court Stays Vaccine William Manuel and Anne R. Bezanson and Claire E. Patti Jr. Burnside and Claire R. Bergeson and Carla N. Aronie and David L. Read This Freedman U. Millar and Tracy P. Valdetero and Jessica D. Ludd and Karen J. Morgan Healthcare Conference Greene and Michael R. As the goals and the programs have been achieved, many of the centers are changing directions or closing all together.

Here is news on centers that are closing. Originally slated to close on April 5, , the REC was granted no-cost extensions in and to continue its work assisting Arizona providers in meeting Meaningful Use. RECs stay involved with the practice to provide consistent long-term support, even after the system has been implemented.

Open Survey. To be able to access direct assistance funds, the REC had to assist a provider through key programmatic milestones: Enrolling in the program Implementing an EHR system Achieving stage 1 meaningful use RECs receive one third of the direct assistance for each milestone a provider achieves. Content last reviewed on November 7, The RECs were not asked to target large healthcare systems, the types of providers most likely to pursue EHR implementations.

Instead they were assigned a group historically reluctant to splurge on health IT: small physician practices and hospitals, which traditionally have found EHRs too expensive, too time-consuming, and too difficult to implement and manage. One year after the RECs formally opened their doors to providers, however, they are expected to meet their first goal-as of September, 90, providers had signed up with the RECs, with the remaining 10, expected to be signed by year's end. While this feat is a big accomplishment, the RECs' true mission is just beginning.

It only gets harder from here. Signing up providers is one thing. Getting them to "meaningfully" use EHRs and meet the incentive program measures-which is the REC's ultimate goal-is another. With the hard work just beginning, any impact on the healthcare landscape that the RECs will make is still a few years off.

Over the next three years of the RECs' four-year government contract they will help small physician groups and critical access hospitals use EHRs that bring them government incentives for improving patient care. During the four-year funding period, the RECs would work to disseminate technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to at least 20 percent of their geographic area's small-scale providers in order to make them "meaningful users" of EHRs-an achievement that would earn the provider incentives through Medicare and Medicaid's multistage EHR incentive program.

The REC guides providers on the selection, implementation, and use of certified EHRs as well as assesses provider needs, negotiates with system vendors, creates and implements project management plans, and helps institute workflow changes. While models vary, most RECs offer in-person and on-site support. Many offer a subscription pay model with tiered services. Rates are typically heavily discounted due to government funding, with many RECs offering at least a basic set of services without charge.

It offers three levels of service with varying prices, with the first level fully subsidized and no cost to the provider. The "gold" service is 90 percent subsidized, much less than a private EHR consultant would charge to get a facility to meaningful use. Overall, she says, it has been a slow start. Some RECs are fully staffed, have exceeded their enrollment numbers, and have begun to see clients successfully attest to stage 1 meaningful use.

But other RECs have had a hard time finding providers willing to enroll and still have open staff positions. But she is optimistic that the program can work. The real test for the program, according to Bordenick, is whether the RECs reach the small physician practices and the rural doctors, not the early adopters.

The early adopters were probably able to meet meaningful use by themselves, she says.