The Office of the National Coordinator awarded grants to two regional health IT extension centers (REC) in California and in New Hampshire, bringing to 62 the number of centers that will help physicians and small practices digitize their patients' medical records.
With the final two grants for program, extension centers are established in every region of the country to supply technical assistance to healthcare providers in the transition from paper to electronic health records (EHR), according to Dr. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator, in an announcement Sept. 28.
The CalOptima Foundation, part of the health system that provides coverage for low-income persons and families in Orange County, Calif., received $4.7 million. The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, a health IT business community formed by state's major providers, received $5.1 million to stand up a REC for the state of New Hampshire.
ONC also expanded the areas to be served by two previously named Florida extension centers. Community Health Centers Alliances will cover additional areas in Glades and Hendry counties, and Health Choice Network of Florida will cover additional areas in Indian River, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties.
"Conversion from paper to electronic health records is a challenging task for any provider, and we believe that help from the RECs will make an important difference, especially in assisting doctors in smaller practices and the smaller and rural hospitals," Blumenthal said.
The extension centers are designed to be a local source of best practices in purchasing and setting up EHRs and redesigning office workflows so physicians, "make full use of the potential of EHRs for improving care and making medical practices work more effectively and efficiently," he said.
The HITECH Act provided $677 million over the next two years for the nationwide system of extension centers, he said. ONC awarded grants for the other 60 extension centers earlier in the year.
The RECs were created to help providers adopt EHRs and meet meaningful use requirements to qualify for incentive payments. But they will also assist any doctor, hospital or clinic looking for technical help with EHRs, according to the announcement.
.
