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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > STIMULUS FUNDS PAY FOR SWITCH TO ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Article published - March 5, 2010
Credit: SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL
Stimulus funds available to help health providers pay for switch to electronic records
by Kathy Robertson
CommuniCare Health Centers plans to go live with an electronic health records system in June, but the network of safety-net clinics has questions about the massive undertaking and projected $1 million cost.
The Davis-based nonprofit might get help from an alliance formed by three trade groups that has received $31 million in federal money to help primary-care providers establish electronic medical records.
The funding will provide education, outreach and technical assistance to community clinics, small medical practices and public hospitals to help them make the expensive switch to paperless records. The initiative, touted by the Obama administration, is expected to improve the efficiency and quality of health care.
About 300 local providers could benefit from the program, said Carmela Castellano-Garcia, president and chief executive officer of the California Primary Care Association in Sacramento.
“It’s a lot of money, and one ray of hope on the whole health care scene, although we still hope for national health care reform,” she said. “This is real; this is happening right now.”
Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare West and the UC Davis Health System have already made significant progress and spent millions on the effort.
Last week, CHW committed $400 million more to its electronic health records rollout, increasing the price of the project to $1 billion. Pleased with the roll-out in eight of its hospitals — including all five in the Sacramento region — CHW will expand the system across its entire network. The 41-hospital network has annual revenue of almost $9 billion.
Most safety-net providers don’t have the cash or wherewithal to go it alone.
The federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 provides $19 billion over four years to help with the transition. The initiative includes loans and grants for infrastructure and incentive payments under Medicare and Medicaid to providers who adopt and use health information technology.
The California Primary Care Association, California Medical Association and California Association of Public Hospitals formed an alliance last year to seek help for their members. The $31 million grant was announced Feb. 12, but details about the name and location of the nonprofit set up to channel the money were not finalized until this week.
California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization, formerly Cal-REC, is the nonprofit 510(c)(3) organization to parcel out the money. The initiative covers all areas of the state except Los Angeles and Orange counties, which have separate efforts under way.
Based in Oakland, CALHIPSO will channel up to $31 million to providers through regional centers that will work directly with clinics, doctors and hospitals. Locations are still unclear. Yolo County expects to work with a coalition that includes Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties; Sacramento might be grouped with some Central Valley counties.
There are substantial strings attached.
The money will be paid as eligible providers meet the following milestones:
• Sign up to be part of the process
• The program goes live
• Providers demonstrate “meaningful use” of the technology to improve care.
A definition of “meaningful use” is still in the works, but the payout is expected to be about $5,000 per provider that meets the standard. The technology is expected to improve health information exchange, electronic prescribing, data reporting and patient communication.
“The $31 million is not a guaranteed number,” said Speranza Avram, an Alameda-based health care consultant hired late last month as executive director. ”We’ll use it if providers demonstrate meaningful use. It’s not a big checkbook.”
About 16,000 providers are eligible for the CALHIPSO program. The goal is to get 7,700 to go electronic, Avram said.
“We recognize how difficult and challenging this is, and not every provider is interested — or able to do it,” she said.
CommuniCare knows it is the right thing to do, said executive director Robin Affrime.
“We saw it coming and built it into our budget,” she said, with small allocations each year. The cost is estimated at $1 million, including the purchase of the system, licensing fees, staff training and lost productivity during the transition. Ongoing maintenance will be more.
CommuniCare is searching for ways to pay its part of the tab.
“We’ve come together to make sure safety-net providers will be successful,” Avram said. One of the options is to aggregate the marketplace and work with technology vendors to offer bundled services for lease at reasonable rates.
California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization
- What it is: A nonprofit corporation established to channel up to $31 million in federal stimulus money to help California clinics, doctors and public hospitals establish electronic health records
- Alliance partners: The California Primary Care Association, California Medical Association and California Association of Public Hospitals
- Reach: Statewide, except Los Angeles and Orange counties
- Contact: Executive director Speranza Avram at info@calhipso.org
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