The Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients -- Maryland's regional extension center -- has reached its initial goal of enrolling 1,000 primary care providers seeking to meet meaningful use requirements, Government Health IT reports.
Background
Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has charged the nation's 62 RECs with helping 100,000 health care providers meet meaningful use criteria.
Maryland's Health IT Efforts
Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) said, "Reaching this goal for [EHR] adoption is a major achievement in our efforts to make Maryland the healthiest state in the nation." Brown and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) have cited widespread adoption of EHRs as one of Maryland's 15 strategic goals.
CRISP -- which is a collaboration of Erickson Living, Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health and the University of Maryland -- also is spearheading efforts to develop a statewide health information exchange (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 6/7).