HIT Implementation Assistance

1. HIT Implementation Assistance ARRA Section 3012 (Public Health Service Act)

2. HIT Research Center (national) • Provide Technical Assistance • Develop or recognize best practices to support and accelerate efforts to: • Adopt, implement, and effectively utilize HIT that Allows for • Electronic exchange and • Use of information • In compliance with standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria adopted under Section 3004 of the HITECH Act.

3. HIT Research Center purposes • Forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience • Accelerate the transfer of lessons learned • Assemble, analyze, and widely disseminate evidence and experience • Provide technical assistance for HIE • Provide technical assistance for solutions to barriers for HIE • Learn about effective ways of adopting/using HIT in medically underserved areas

5. HIT Regional Extension Centers • Provide technical Assistance • Disseminate best practices and other information • Support and accelerate efforts to adopt, implement, and utilize HIT.

6. Parallels to U.S. Dept of Agriculture Land Grant Universities Cooperative Extension: County Agricultural Agents Enormous benefit to 20th century agriculture Best Practices through Extension programs

7. Regional Extension Centers • Four year grant cycle • Years 1 & 2: 90% federal share • Years 3 & 4: 10% federal share • Estimated 70 centers, by geographic area • Supporting 100,000 providers • Nonprofit institutions

8. Oklahoma Regional Extension Center • Oklahoma Primary Care Association initiated • Began meeting in June 2009 • OHA, OSMA, OOA, OFMQ, OSU, OU, OHCA, OSDH, OKPRN, AHEC, HAU, others • Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality selected as grant applicant

9. Hospitals & HIT Extension Program – ARRA excerpt (4) REGIONAL ASSISTANCE.—Each regional center shall aim to provide assistance and education to all providers in a region, but shall prioritize any direct assistance first to the following: • (A) Public or not-for-profit hospitals or critical access hospitals. • (B) Federally qualified health centers (as defined in section 1861(aa)(4) of the Social Security Act). • (C) Entities that are located in rural and other areas that serve uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved individuals (regardless of whether such area is urban or rural). • (D) Individual or small group practices (or a consortium thereof) that are primarily focused on primary care.

10. May 28 Federal Register notice - “draft description” We propose that the goals of the regional center program should be to: • Encourage adoption of electronic health records by clinicians and hospitals; • Assist clinicians and hospitals to become meaningful users of electronic health records; and • Increase the probability that adopters of electronic health record systems will become meaningful users of the technology.

11. August 20 – Funding Opportunity Announcement Pursuant to requirements of the HITECH Act, priority shall be given to providers that are primary-care providers (physicians and/or other health care professionals with prescriptive privileges, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners) in any of the following settings: • individual and small group practices (ten or fewer professionals with prescriptive privileges) primarily focused on primary care; • public and Critical Access Hospitals; • Community Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics; and • other settings that predominantly serve uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved populations.

12. Application and Award Process: $598 Million