Quarterly Update

Welcome to our first Quarterly Update!
Qualis Health and our team of technical assistance partners have been very busy during our first few months working as the region's health IT extension center—and the pace won't be slowing down anytime soon. We're pleased to share our progress with you.

What is WIREC?
WIREC's primary purpose is to support healthcare providers with technical assistance related to the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs).

In addition, we serve as a clearinghouse for local and national news related to EHR use.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently awarded Recovery Act funding to several Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the nation.

The grant subsidizes our technical assistance services to selected primary care providers for the first program year. (More information about the types of practices that may qualify for the reduced rates.)

Qualis Health's WIREC team (Enlarge photo and view names)

Led by Qualis Health, WIREC offers a comprehensive suite of services to practices across Washington and Idaho. Our technical assistance is carried out by a consortium of the region’s premier health IT adoption organizations:

• Community Choice
• Idaho Health Data Exchange
• Inland Northwest Health Services
• North Idaho Health Network
• PTSO of Washington
• Qualis Health

See more information about the types of technical assistance we provide.

Webinar series provides practical tips for reaching meaningful use
Sponsored by WIREC, the Getting Paid to Use Your EHR webinar series shares updates about the government’s new cost-sharing programs for EHR implementation and introduces practical steps that providers can take to reach meaningful use.

The series features a variety of speakers with expertise in EHR implementation and also provides opportunities for questions and tips from the audience—supplying a platform for Washington and Idaho providers to learn from each other’s successes and challenges related to EHR use.

The series is offered at no charge to WIREC's participating practices. Starting in September, there will be a $75 registration fee, per phone line, for all other attendees.

Session 4: How to Plan for a Successful Go-Live
July 13, 2010
11:30am - 12:30pm Pacific Time
12:30pm - 1:30pm Mountain Time
More details and online registration.

Session 5: Final Rules for Meaningful Use and EHR Certification
August 2010
(Specific date TBD, pending announcement of the final rules)

Session 6: Negotiating a Successful Contract with Your EHR Vendor
September 21,  2010

Recordings of the series' previous webinars are available.

Work has begun to establish EHR group purchasing agreements for the region
Small practices don’t always have the resources to comprehensively research EHR features, nor the power to negotiate substantial vendor discounts. But when individual practices work together on a group purchase, that dynamic changes.

WIREC has formed stakeholder panels to help us select two or three EHR vendors who would offer the best feature set, service level agreements, and pricing structure for WIREC-facilitated group purchasing in Washington and Idaho.

The stakeholder panel held its kick-off meeting on June 6. At that meeting, the panelists developed a draft of the initial screening criteria for determining which vendors would be eligible to compete in the RFP process. An ambitious schedule of project milestones was also drafted, with plans to complete the RFP process by the end of 2010.

WIREC thanks the panelists for agreeing to embark on this important project. Reports of their progress will be shared online and in future editions of the WIREC Quarterly Update.

Health IT news

Idaho Department of Health & Welfare
Idaho providers urged to take part in health IT survey
All Idaho healthcare providers are encouraged to respond to an online survey designed to assess the state's current health IT landscape.

• Survey for hospitals
• Survey for "eligible professionals" which include physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse mid-wives, dentists, and physician assistants who are working in a physician assistant-led federally qualified health center

The survey will serve as a baseline for evaluating the impact of future programs. In particular, the survey will help forecast needs and bolster the state's application for federal incentive funding, which would be payable to Medicaid providers who meet the EHR meaningful use criteria.

The survey is administered by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, Division of Medicaid. View more information about the state's EHR incentive program for Medicaid providers.

Eastern WA & Northern ID
Funding awarded to support HIE and diabetes care coordination
The Beacon Community of the Inland Northwest (BCIN)—a partnership of Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS), Community Choice, Washington State Department of Health, the Washington Academy of Family Physicians, the Critical Access Hospital Network, SAIC, and the North Central Washington Health Collaborative—was recently awarded Recovery Act funding.

The BCIN encompasses 14 predominantly rural counties in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. The project is designed to extend the area’s existing health information exchange (HIE) and increase care coordination for patients with diabetes. It is one of 15 Beacon communities funded nationwide. More information is available on the INHS website.

Bellevue, WA
New certificate program focuses on EMR adoption in ambulatory settings
Bellevue College is now offering an ONC-approved EMR Adoption for Ambulatory Practice certificate. The 10-week program includes 50 hours of coursework plus weekly meetings with fellow program participants and an HIT expert. The course is designed to help medical practices successfully manage the transition to electronic health records.

The course outline and registration details are available on the Bellevue College website. Don’t delay—the first session begins August 2.

Bellevue College has been designated by the ONC to lead our 10-state region in health IT training.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Final criteria defining "meaningful use" expected to be released this summerThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to release its final criteria for EHR meaningful use this summer. WIREC will summarize the criteria, and what they entail on an operational level, when the official document becomes available. (The specific date for that presentation will be posted to our webinar calendar pending the official CMS release.)

For a detailed look at the draft criteria, please refer to the Journal of AHIMA whitepaper series on meaningful use.

Comment period regarding integration of federal incentive programs to open July 14
CMS is requesting public comment on how it should integrate the clinical quality measures reported for two incentive programs: EHR meaningful use and Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). Recent health reform laws mandate that the two programs be integrated by January 1, 2012.

The request is included among other proposed rules addressing changes to the Medicare Part B physician payment fee schedule. The full document became available for download last week and is due to be published in the Federal Register on July 14. After the publication date, comments will be accepted online or through the mail.

>>Go to the Quarterly Update archive.