Oregon's Health Information Technology Extension Center (O-HITEC) Offers Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA) Providers a Rapid Plan to Meet the Federal Requirements for Meaningful Use of their Electronic Health Records (EHR)
PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Using the muscle of OCHIN, (O-HITEC's parent) and its 10 plus year old collaborative that has the majority of its member clinics and providers meeting milestone #1 of the federal government's Meaningful Use (MU) requirements, COIPA member physicians will be able to join O-HITEC and reap the benefit of OCHIN's efforts to reach MU.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for our members that should not be missed," said John Ryan, COIPA's executive director. "Each clinician can draw down federal incentives of $44 for Medicare or up to $64,000 for Medicaid. We want to assure that our members meet Meaningful Use and receive financial assistance to pay for and update their electronic health records," said Ryan. COIPA has invited all of its members to attend a September 21st reception to welcome OCHIN into the Bend, Oregon community and to learn about the Meaningful Use requirements.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) authorized Health Information Technology Extension Programs through grant opportunities for regional extension centers. OCHIN was awarded the grant for Oregon and established O-HITEC to provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to help providers and critical access hospitals successfully implement and meaningfully use EHR technology.
Glenn Kulm, OCHIN's vice president of Central Oregon Operations located in Bend, said, "Helping providers to defray the cost of an EHR and bringing money into Oregon to advance health information technology that can improve health, is why we applied for this grant." So far, nearly 1800 Oregon clinicians are enrolled and receiving OCHIN/O-HITEC assistance, and COIPA members can have immediate access to OCHIN/O-HITEC resources to help accelerate their MU success.
About OCHIN:
OCHIN is a national non-profit collaborative headquartered in Portland, Oregon that provides integrated HIT software products and services to community health clinics, mental health services and small practices serving the medically underserved. In 2010, OCHIN won a competitive federal grant to start Oregon's Health Information Technology Extension Center (O-HITEC) a division of OCHIN that provides education, outreach, and assistance to facilitate successful implementation, and meaningful use of certified electronic health records. OCHIN/O-HITEC strives to transform healthcare, improve quality and deliver value through effective use of information technology. For more information please visit www.ochin.org and www.o-hitec.org
About COIPA:
Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA) is comprised of nearly 600 physicians and practitioners within a 40,000-mile, 12 county geographic area in Oregon. COIPA offers a collaborative, unique experience for providers to become involved in the medical decisions that affect their practices, while improving efficiency and reducing healthcare delivery system costs for its members and their patients. Please visit www.coipa.org for more information.
Contacts:
John Ryan
Executive Director
Central Oregon Independent Practice Association
(541) 585-2590
[email protected]
Ruby Haughton-Pitts
Communications Director
OCHIN, Inc.
(503) 784-2284
[email protected]
SOURCE OCHIN
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