(Columbus, Ohio) - Today, the Central Ohio Health Information Exchange (COHIE) announced that it has signed contracts with The Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital to assist the primary care physicians affiliated with each system in adopting and implementing electronic health records (EHR). 

 

The newly signed agreements means that all four hospital systems in central Ohio, including Mount Carmel Health System and OhioHealth, as well as Central Ohio Primary Care, independent physician practices and other community hospitals, are partnering with COHIE to assist physicians in adopting an EHR and working towards implementing the technology at a level expected by the federal government by the year 2012. COHIE is now providing services to 1,250 primary care physicians, leading all other regions in Ohio and closing in on its goal of 1,352 physicians.

 

Medicare and Ohio Medicaid provide incentives to primary care physicians, specialists, and mid-level providers to adopt an EHR in their practice. By adopting an EHR and reaching "Meaningful Use" of the system, physicians can receive Medicare or Medicaid financial incentives over the next several years, with top amounts at $44,000 per physician for Medicare and $63,750 for Medicaid.

 

COHIE is also announcing that it has recently assisted the first  Ohio physician, Dr. Gregg Alexander of London, in receiving an EHR incentive payment from Ohio Medicaid.  Midtown Obstetrics and Gynecology of Columbus was also at the forefront of this initiative, and has received Medicaid EHR incentives with COHIE's assistance.

 

COHIE is a non-profit organization formed last year by local hospital, physician and business groups as a "regional extension center" (REC)  to provide the area's primary care physicians with support for EHR adoption, utilizing stimulus monies from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is done through a coordinated effort with six other RECs throughout the state, in partnership with the Ohio Health Information Partnership, a non-profit organization which spearheads health information technology advancements state-wide.  COHIE serves the following 14 counties:  Coshocton, Crawford, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, and Union.

 

To find out more about how central Ohio primary care physicians, including obstetrician-gynecologists, can avail themselves to COHIE's subsidized services and to learn more about the services being offered to assist with reaching "meaningful use" to be eligible for incentive payments, contact COHIE Director Matt Esker at (614) 384-9174 or matte@cohie.org.

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Ohio Health Information Partnership is funded through the Office of the National Coordinator, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, grant numbers 90RC0012 and 90HT0024