Helping Physicians Receive Medicare and Medicaid Incentive
June 07, 2011
"e-MDs, a physician-led industry leading provider of electronic health records (EHRs), announced that a significant number of their Texas providers who use the e-MDs Chart EHR have qualified to receive incentive payments under the ARRA/HITECH program. Many of these have benefited from the services provided by the 4 Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and their affiliates." Read the the rest of the article at the e-MDs' site
Registration is Now open for the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs
January 14, 2011
Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, announced that registration is now open for the Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs, administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
For more on registering for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, visit the Official Web Site for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs
Texas Medicaid Has Invited You to a Webinar About Their EHR Incentive Program
December 20, 2010
On February 3, 2011 Texas Medicaid will hold a webinar about the Texas Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. You will learn about program participation for eligible professionals (i.e. Physicians, dentists, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, Federally Qualified Health Center physician assistants, and rural health clinics physician assistants.
You can participate in the webinar at 11:30am - 1:00pm or 5:00am - 6:30pm. To register for the webinars go to http://conta.cc/EHRwebinarJan2011. Each webinar has a 200 connection limitation so please participate as a group, if possible.
Details on the agenda and instructions will be emailed upon registration and will also be available on the Health IT website starting December 17, 2010. For immediate questions, please contact Julia Alejandre.
Materials presented during the webinar will be available starting January 28th, 2011 at www.tmhp.com/Pages/HealthIT/HIT_Ref.aspx.
For regular updates on the EHR Incentive Program sign up for email updates in HHSC – Projects – Health Information Technology or visit the Health IT website.
Download an flyer to print and share will others.
No Need to Worry About Federal HIT Funding
November 19, 2010
With a newly elected congress, there are some concerns that promised Federal HIT funds will be retracted. HealthCareITNews.com has posted that some experts are saying the HIT funding is safe for now. Read the full article on their site.
"Measure twice, cut once… be careful choosing an EMR"
October 27, 2010
Texas Medicine recently published an interesting article in their October, 2010 publication “Measure twice, cut once… be careful choosing an EMR”. Converting a medical practice from a paper medical record to an electronic health record (EHR) can be an arduous process. This requires careful planning and implementation of an EHR that is specific to the needs and specialty of the practice. The entire article may be viewed by TMA members on their website.
We Were Recently Featured In The AbouTown Press
October 12, 2010
The AbouTown Press recently published an article describing the efforts and effects of implementing Electronic Health Records (EHR) in medical practice. The article also featured the efforts of the CentrEast REC. You can read the full article on their website
CentrEast Regional Extension Center Gets Supplemental Grant To Assist Critical Access Hospitals With Electronic Medical Records
September 20, 2010
(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — Five months after receiving a multimillion-dollar federal grant to establish a center that assists in adoption, implementation and progress toward meaningful use of electronic health records, the Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) has landed a supplemental grant emphasizing critical access hospitals.
In April, the HSC-Rural and Community Health Institute received $5.3 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to form a Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC). It was part of a $35.7 million award to establish RECs in four Texas regions.
The HSC-Rural and Community Health Institute REC, CentrEast, assists physicians and health care professionals in 47 central and east Texas counties. Partners include Mays Business School and the Dwight Look College of Engineering from Texas A&M University.
CentrEast Regional Extension Center provides technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices for health care practitioners to become meaningful users of electronic health records. Along with providers, this new $384,000 grant to CentrEast will benefit critical access hospitals in its region.
The latest award is part of nearly $20 million in new federal technical support assistance to help critical access and rural hospital facilities convert from paper-based medical records to certified electronic health record technology.
The Battalion Writes About How CentrEast Regional Extension Center is Digitalizing Health Care
July 23, 2010
Texas A&M University's student paper, The Battalion, published a great article about CentrEastREC and it's mission to help digitalize health care. Read the full article on their website.
HHS Announces Final Rules To Support Meaningful Use Of Electronic Health Records
July 14, 2010
BRYAN, TEXAS - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced final rules to help improve Americans'' health, increase safety and reduce health care costs through expanded use of electronic health records (EHR).
CentrEast Regional Extension Center is one of 60 Regional Extension Centers around the country, designated to offer health care providers a local resource for technical assistance, guidance, and information on best practices to support and accelerate health care provider efforts to become meaningful users of EHR.
"For years, health policy leaders on both sides of the aisle have urged adoption of electronic health records throughout our health care system to improve quality of care and ultimately lower costs," Secretary Sebelius said. "Today, with the leadership of the President and the Congress, we are making that goal a reality."
Established under the HITECH Act Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specified objectives. One of the two regulations announced today defines the "meaningful use" objectives that providers must meet to qualify for the bonus payments, and the other regulation identifies the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology.
With "meaningful use" definitions in place, CentrEast Regional Extension Center will be working with primary care providers and their practices to ensure that the EHR system they acquire will support achievement of "meaningful use" objectives. With today's announcement, a concentrated five-year national initiative to adopt and use electronic records in health care can begin.
"Our Regional Extension Center provides the needed hands-on, field support for all physicians and health care providers to advance the rapid adoption and use of health IT," said Robert Morrow, MD, Principal Investigator. "In understanding the unique challenges facing today's physician and health care provider, we fill the role of trusted advisor for providers in Central and East Texas, offering a functional combination of national insight and local expertise."
Two companion final rules were announced today. One regulation, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), defines the minimum requirements that providers must meet through their use of certified EHR technology in order to qualify for the payments. The other rule, issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), identifies the standards and certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and hospitals may be assured that the systems they adopt are capable of performing the required functions.
The CMS rule announced today makes final a proposed rule issued on Jan, 13, 2010. The final rule includes modifications that address stake holder concerns while retaining the intent and structure of the incentive programs. In particular, while the proposed rule called on eligible professionals to meet 25 requirem
Dr. Arun Sen Was The Focus of a Recent Mays Business School Article
July 06, 2010
One of our colleagues, Dr. Arun Sen, was the focus of a great write up of our mission to help health care providers reach meaningful use of the new electronic health records.
Read full article at on the Mays Business School website.
Job Opening
July 01, 2010
We have a new job opening in our Regional Extension Center. We are currently looking for an Outreach Representative.
Please take a look at our current openings page for more details.
Austin Business Journal Wrote About CentrEast Regional Extension Center
June 10, 2010
Austin Business Journal recently published an article about CentrEast Regional Extension Center.
You can access the article at the Austin Business Journal's website.
Answers to Vendor Question's About the Request For Qualifications Has Been Posted
May 14, 2010
Texas Regional Extension consortium has posted the answers to the questions posed by the vendors about the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) document. You can download them at www.txrecs.org.
HSC Awarded Funds for Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center for Improving Use of Electronic Health Records
May 07, 2010
(COLLEGE STATION, TX) - Medical errors resulting from misunderstanding a doctor's written notes could be a thing of the past. Technology is paving the way for better patient care, and the Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) is at the forefront of this effort.
The HSC-Rural and Community Health Institute (RCHI) has been awarded $5,279,970 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to form a Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC). The center will assist physicians and health care professionals in 47 central and east Texas counties in implementing statewide electronic medical records. Read more... (pdf)