Like it or not, the practice of medicine is moving along the digital highway.  The government is pumping out billions of dollars to accelerate the use of electronic medical records (EMR) and help improve our health care system. Physicians can get up to $65,000 in incentives from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with one caveat: You have to achieve "meaningful use" by 2015. Whatever that means.  Oh, and you're subject to financial penalties if you don't.  Time to shift into gear!

   You can spend your time shopping EMR systems; you can talk to your colleagues for advice.  You can read the 500-page document that attempts to explain the definition of "meaningful use." Months later, you may have your slick new EMR set up, to discover it's nothing more than an expensive filing cabinet. You still can't get the system to tell you how you're doing in the pursuit of the meaningful use criteria. All that...or you can call the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality for help.

   OFMQ was recently named one of 32 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (HITREC) in the nation. OFMQ will provide technical assistance to over 1000 Oklahoma physicians to use EMRs to improve the quality, efficiency and value of health care services patients receive. The work is targeted to benefit primary-care providers with a particular emphasis on individual and small group practices, and those providing primary care in public and critical access hospitals, community health centers, and other settings that predominantly serve uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved populations.

   "Being awarded the HITREC is a tremendous opportunity for OFMQ and for Oklahoma," said Dale Bratzler, DO, MPH, president and CEO of OFMQ.  "As a local consultant to physicians using EMR for over five years, OFMQ has a unique set of clinical and technical expertise on staff.   We look forward to expanding our services and helping Oklahoma physicians take advantage of this federal program to improve health care quality," he said.

   "Implementing an EMR is not an easy task," said Dr. Dan Criswell, a faculty family physician with the University of Oklahoma Southwest Oklahoma Family Medical Residency in Lawton. "OFMQ helped our staff learn how to navigate the EMR, and get us off the ground.  We can better track and review our patients' progress over time, and we have access to tools like more accurate medication lists, problem lists and flowsheets," he said.

   Providers who participate in the HITREC program will receive technical assistance from OFMQ health information technology experts at discounts as much as 90 percent over a two-year period, beginning in February 2010. OFMQ will assist providers in selecting an EMR system and achieving meaningful use objectives set forth by the government, including data capture and sharing, advanced care processes with decision support and improved outcomes. Providers who implement and achieve meaningful use of their EMR are eligible for up to $44,000 over five years from Medicare or up to $65,000 over five years from Medicaid to help offset the EMR purchase costs, and those who don't may be subject to financial penalties by 2015.  Providers who implement early, beginning in 2011, are eligible for the biggest incentives. 

   OFMQ is collaborating with state agencies, medical professional organizations, health plans, colleges and universities, and health care providers, including physicians and hospital systems to carry out the work.  Terri White, Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and State Secretary of Health, indicated that state health officials are pleased these resources are available. 

   "Taking advantage of advancements in technology is important to furthering the capabilities of Oklahoma's health care system," said White.  "Health information technology will play a significant role in preventing and treating illness and improving system efficiencies."

Broad objectives for EMR use include:

      ·  reducing health disparities,

      ·  improving access to patient health data