HITEC-LA announced that more than 1,500 of its members who are eligible primary care providers have reached meaningful use with certified electronic health record (EHR) systems. A project of L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, HITEC-LA has a program goal of helping 3,000 eligible primary care providers in L.A. County reach meaningful use by 2014. Providers that meaningfully use certified EHRs can have increased capabilities to improve the quality of the patient care that they deliver.
“We are certainly excited to pass the half-way point,” says Mary Franz, Executive Director for HITEC-LA. “The L.A. County providers are starting to accelerate their efforts to achieve meaningful use.”
HITEC-LA belongs to the network of 62 Regional Extension Centers across the country formed under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition to developing the Regional Extension Centers, the HITECH Act also created the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, which provide incentive payments to eligible professionals as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Eligible health care providers can receive up to $63,750 under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program or up to $44,000 under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.
About HITEC-LA
Health Information Technology Extension Center for Los Angeles (HITEC-LA) was founded in 2010 under the Health Information Technology Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act when the federal government awarded L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, a $16.4 million grant. HITEC-LA is the exclusive federally-designated Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center for Los Angeles County. HITEC-LA acts solely in the best interest of Los Angeles County health care providers, helping them select, implement, and meaningfully use electronic health records certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). HITEC-LA is funded by the ONC, Department of Health and Human Services, Award Number: 90RC0052/01. Visit www.hitecla.org.
About L.A. Care Health Plan
L.A. Care Health Plan (Local Initiative Health Authority of Los Angeles County) is a public entity and community-accountable health plan serving residents of Los Angeles County through a variety of programs including L.A. Care Covered™, Medi-Cal, L.A. Care’s Healthy Kids, L.A. Care Health Plan Medicare Advantage HMO SNP, and PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health Care Plan. L.A. Care is a leader in developing new programs through innovative partnerships designed to provide health coverage to vulnerable populations and to support the safety net. With more than one million members, L.A. Care is the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan.