What is the REC and How Can it Help Me?

With the ever-changing landscape of Health Information Technology, acronyms seem to be popping up like wildfire. One that may have been thrown your way recently is Regional Extension Center funding, or "REC" for short. In a nut-shell the Federal government is providing funding for RECs across the country to provide hands-on consultation to primary care clinics and rural hospitals to reach meaningful use of HIT. In Colorado, these services will be FREE to eligible facilities, including Consortium members!

Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO) was awarded the Federal REC grants from the Office of National Coordinator in February, and are sub-contracting the work to several CO-REC partners, including the Colorado Rural Health Center. As a REC partner, CRHC will be working directly with rural clinics and hospitals in the assessment, roadmapping, implementation, and workflow stages to be able to reach meaningful use and access their own incentive funding.

We are still in the process of working with CORHIO to determine how the REC services will be executed and we will keep you apprised! However, we highly recommend that you consider this valuable resource and contact us if you are in the process or contemplating HIT adoption to learn more about what services are available to you. Please contact Cari Fouts at cf@coruralhealth.org, or David Ginsberg at dg@coruralhealth.org for more information.

Colorado to Develop "Short List" of Vendors

One of the most frequently asked Consortium questions we receive is "Does THE Consortium have a list of vendors that are recommended?" While THE Consortium is vendor-neutral, we have extensive experience in working with various vendors for small practices and rural hospitals and will assist facilities looking for viable, trusted options. Through the Regional Extension Center (REC) grant in partnership with the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO), the Colorado REC partners (CRHC included), will be developing a "short list" of vendors for providers that will meet the incentive requirements for meaningful use and certification. For those of you who are wanting to discuss options prior to the official release of vendors, please contact David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor to THE Consortium, at dg@coruralhealth.org.

Interim Final Rule- E-Prescribing for Controlled Substance

On March 31st, an Interim Final Rule (ISR) was issued with request for comment to allow the ability to use electronic prescribing (rather than paper prescriptions) for controlled substances. These regulations are in addition to, not a replacement of, the existing rules. The IFR states the proposed rule provides practitioners with the option of writing prescriptions for controlled substances electronically. The regulations will also:

1. Permit pharmacies to receive, dispense, and archive electronic prescriptions;
2. Provide pharmacies, hospitals, and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed system of controls on controlled substances dispensing;
3. Reduce paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense controlled substances and have the potential to reduce prescription forgery;
4. Potentially reduce the number of prescription errors caused by illegible handwriting and misunderstood oral prescriptions;
5. Help both pharmacies and hospitals integrate prescription records into other medical records more directly, which may increase efficiency, and potentially reduce the amount of time patients spend waiting to have their prescriptions filled.

Comments will be accepted for 60 days after the IFR was issued.

Senators Request Flexibility in Meaningful Use Criteria

A group of 37 Democratic senators asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to revise the proposed meaningful use plan so that providers could have more flexibility in meeting the deadlines for satisfying some of the criteria for the financial incentives. Click here for the full story.

Consortium Webinar Tomorrow - Register Today!

There is still time to register for our next Consortium webinar, Thursday, April 15th, from 12-1:15. Join us as we explore Breach Notification regulations and discuss the pertinent steps involved in properly selecting Electronic Health Records systems. For more information and to register, click here.

Don't Talk To Vendors Alone!

With the announcement that stimulus funding is available to hospitals and clinics who implement Electronic Health Records (EHR), vendors have been knocking on the doors of clinics and hospitals across the nation trying to get organizations to sign on with their system. THE Consortium is here for you to help you navigate discussions with vendors and ensure the system they are selling you will meet your needs and meaningful use criteria. We know the solutions that work for rural hospitals and safety net providers and have been working closely with various vendors and systems for over 10 years. As a vendor-neutral third party, we are here to advocate on your behalf so you don’t have to do it alone! Please contact David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor, for free vendor consultation at hit@coruralhealth.org.