The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has begun to recruit "physician champions" through regional extension centers to help medical practitioners across the U.S. adopt electronic health records, Government Health IT reports (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 3/4).
Background on RECs
The 62 RECs across the country are designed to provide a variety of services to help health care providers become meaningful users of health IT. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHRs can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments (iHealthBeat, 2/8).
'Physician Champion' Details
Physician champions are doctors who are early adopters of health IT and are on the way to demonstrating meaningful use. Physician champions will work under the Meaningful Use Vanguard initiative. MUV participants will coordinate with RECs to help health care providers digitize their health records and adopt other health IT.
For example, Quality Insights of Delaware -- the state's REC -- features about 221 MUV participants in its electronic newsletters and in conferences with other health care providers (Government Health IT, 3/4).