In this issue:
IL-HITREC Reaches enrollment goal of 1300

Provider steps for Public Health Immunization attestation

HHS announces new initiative to speed adoption of HIT

CMS offers New Medicare EHR Incentive Program Guide for Eligible Professionals (EPs)

New research finds EHRs improve the quality of diabetes care

Three pass the HITPRO Exams

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December 2011Issue: 5

Wishing you happy holidays and the best in the New Year!

Greetings!

Welcome to the fifth issue of the IL-HITREC INTERCHANGE. This newsletter is your resource for news and information on the REC program in Illinois.


IL-HITREC reaches enrollment goal of 1300

    A continuing commitment to helping providers reach meaningful use of electronic health records is the focus of the Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (IL-HITREC) as it celebrates reaching its target enrollment goal of 1,300 priority primary care providers.
    IL-HITREC reached its goal in November, around the same time the national enrollment goal of 100,000 was announced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The 100,000 number represents more than one-third of the primary care providers in the United States.
    In addition, IL-HITREC has more than 50% of its providers at Milestone 2—or Go-Live of an EHR. Go-Live consists of the ability to E-Prescribe and produce Quality Reporting. In future newsletters, IL-HITREC will be keeping you up-to-date on providers reaching Go-Live and Meaningful Use of their EHR. Read the complete article


Provider steps for Public Health
Immunization attestation

    During Phase I of Meaningful Use attestation, all Illinois Eligible Professionals (EPs) are required to satisfy one of two Public Health measures to collect CMS incentives: Immunization Registries Data Submission or Syndromic Surveillance Data Submission.
    The focus of this article is on Immunization Registries Data Submission (Menu Measure 9) because the method for submitting data is currently in place in Illinois. Future editions of the IL-HITREC Interchange will provide additional information about methods for meeting this MU requirement for Public Health. Read the complete article


HHS announces new initiative to
speed adoption of HIT

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced measures intended to spur earlier adoption of health IT. The measure gives providers until February 2012 to demonstrate Stage 1 meaningful use for 2011. That will allow them to receive incentive payments made available under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Read the complete article


CMS offers new Medicare EHR incentive program guide for Eligible Professionals (EPs)

    CMS has created a new interactive, comprehensive tool, An Introduction to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals, to help guide EPs through all of the phases of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program—from eligibility and registration to attestation and payment.
    Chapters provide information on: EHR Incentive Program basics; How to participate (determining eligibility and registration); Meaningful use and choosing measures; Attestation; and Helpful resources on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
    The guide can be found on the Educational Materials section of the EHR website, along with several other helpful tools and resources for participants in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.


New research finds EHRs improve
the quality of diabetes care

    The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently published a study which looks at care delivered to diabetic patients in physician practices that use electronic health records compared to physician practices that do not.
The results should not come as a surprise to IL-HITREC’s partners who are working to speed the adoption and meaningful use of health IT. Practices that use EHRs -- especially in conjunction with collaborative efforts to improve quality -- delivered measurably better care than practices which rely on paper records.
The Office of the National Coordinator's Buzz Blog features a blog by the study's lead author, Dr. Randall Cebul, which summarizes its findings. Health IT is helping to transform the way care is delivered in this nation. The NEJM article served as encouragement that we are on the right track, and the results are well worth the effort.


Three pass the HITPRO exams

    Congratulations to IL-HITREC's Sharon Miller, Katie Heskett and Brenda Simms for passing the Health Information Technology Professional Exam. Read the complete article