New online resource for EHRs and meaningful use

Sunday, January 01, 2012 12:19 PM
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Susan Burke, Director, Communications

The Colorado Medical Society, COREC (Colorado Regional Extension Center) and CORHIO (Colorado Regional Health Information Organization) have developed a free, self-guided educational online tool, or portal, that provides resources to help medical practices better understand “meaningful use.”

Meaningful use stems from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and provides physician practices monetary incentives for the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs). Requirements of meaningful use include electronic prescribing, quality reporting and the capability of exchanging information with other systems.

The new online portal takes physicians and their staff through step-by-step training and educational modules to help them select, implement and meaningfully use certified EHR technology. It is designed to help physician practices track their work to achieve meaningful use over time. During each portal visit, users will often add or edit information in the portal.

The portal is available to all Colorado physicians or practice staff members. “We wanted to provide all of Colorado’s providers with a robust portfolio of resources that they could access on their own time in a self-directed way,” said former CO-REC Director Robyn Leone.

No matter where you are on your path to meaningful use, the portal can help. It contains interactive tools including an EHR readiness assessment, EHR selection criteria assessments, EHR contract considerations, and pre- and post-implementation checklists necessary for success. The portal has numerous downloadable documents and resources in easy to use formats like MS Word, MS Excel and PDF. It also has links to statewide resources and information on critical success factors and the most common “failure modes” that drive EHR and health information exchange implementation, as well as detailed HIPAA privacy and security requirements.

The portal was created through a grant from the Physicians Foundation.

For more information about meaningful use incentives as well as physician attestations, go to http://www.corhio.org/ portal.


Posted in: Colorado Medicine | Practice Evolution | Practice Redesign | Health Information Technology
 

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