In this issue:
Latest News

HIT Literature Review

Milestone 2 - Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Spotlight on Dr. Steven Bush

Achieving Meaningful Use Webinar Series

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QUALIFICATION SURVEY

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July 2011Issue: 2

Greetings!

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


Latest News

Regional Extension Center Progress
ONC has funded 64 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) to help more than 100,000 primary care providers meaningfully use electronic health records (EHRs).

Below are some National and Local provider sign-up statistics:
National Goal: 100,000 priority primary care providers
Current National Enrollment: 73,231 (73% of goal)
IL-HITREC Goal: 1300 priority primary care providers
Current IL-HITREC Enrollment: 975 (75% of goal)

Over the next few months, IL-HITREC is expecting many enrolled practices to reach Milestone 2 or Go-Live of their EHR. See our article below for more details on reaching the Go-Live status of your EHR.


HIT Literature Review

Recent literature on health information technology looks at its effect on outcomes, including quality, efficiency, and provider satisfaction. Ninety-two percent of articles reached positive conclusions about HIT incorporation.

Read the entire article: The Benefits Of Health Information Technology: A Review Of The Recent Literature Shows Predominantly Positive Results



Milestone 2 - Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Milestone 2, as outlined by ONC, is defined for all REC programs as the Go-Live status of a certified EHR, with active quality reporting and electronic prescribing. This seemingly daunting task may be easier than you think. Quality reporting and e-prescribing functions must be active, but do not have to be fully utilized at the time of Go-Live. Also, your EHR need not be certified at Go-Live, although a plan must be in place to upgrade to an ONC-ATCB certified version.

A plan must also be in place to fully utilize quality reporting and electronic prescribing functions in pursuit of Milestone 3 or Meaningful Use. In the next several months, IL-HITREC will be making a focused effort to bring practices to Milestone 2.

Please contact your IL-HITREC representative to discuss the Go-Live status of your EHR.



Spotlight on Dr. Steven Bush

Dr. BushDr. Bush belongs to a multi-speciality practice in St. Charles, IL that includes 22 providers and support staff.

Reflecting on their migration to EHRs, Dr. Bush discusses the importance of computer infrastructure, motivating physicians, choosing key contact people and utilizing IL-HITREC services.


Achieving Meaningful Use Webinar Series

IL-HITREC has offered a series of FREE webinars designed to help physicians and practices attain meaningful use of EHRs. Our Achieving Meaningful Use series offered monthly webinars with timely topics on achieving meaningful use of EHRs. Each webinar was recorded, so please visit our archives below to view a webinar.

Archived Webinars:

A Winning Strategy for Achieving Meaningful Use

EHRs: The Good, the Bad and the Need to be Prepared

Workflow and EHR - an Oxymoron?

Clinical Decision Support - What it is and how it can improve medicine

Quality Reporting and Meaningful Use

An Introduction to E-prescribing

EHR Data Privacy and Security: How to NOT End Up in the Newspapers...