The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is developing an interactive online dashboard to monitor the performance of regional extension centers and allow them to share lessons about their efforts to promote electronic health record implementation, Government Health IT reports.
Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs will qualify for incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid.
About RECs
The 62 RECs across the country provide a variety of services to help health care providers become meaningful users of EHRs. Such services include:
- Education;
- Project management; and
- Vendor selection.
In addition, RECs are tasked with sharing best practices in health IT adoption.
Mat Kendall, director of ONC's Office of Provider Adoption and Support, said it is critical for the centers to clearly communicate messages to health care providers about the value of certified EHRs and meaningful use.
Kendall made the comments during a two-day meeting of a Health IT Standards Committee work group. For additional coverage on the meeting, see today's iHealthBeat article on health care providers' concerns complying with requirements of the meaningful use incentive payment program.
Plans for the Dashboard
According to Kendall, a preliminary "static" version of the REC dashboard is expected to be available by the end of January (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 1/11).