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SEPTEMBER  2014
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In this Issue of REConnection

Welcome to the September issue of REConnection. 
We have lots of great information to share with you.  
Here are some of the highlights:
  

As always, we welcome your feedback and story ideas. Just email us at REConnection Feedback.

Best Regards, 
The RI REC Team
CMSNEWS: CMS final rule

 

On August 29, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its final rule regarding changes to the Meaningful Use stage timeline and the definition of certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) to allow options in the use of CEHRT for a 2014 EHR reporting period. The rule was published in the Federal Register on September 4, 2014.

 

The rule allows eligible providers to use 2011 edition certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT), or a combination of 2011 and 2014 edition CEHRT to meet Meaningful Use. Eligible professionals (EPs) must use a 2014 edition CEHRT in 2015.

 

Under this final rule, Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use incentive program will be extended through 2016 and Stage 3 will begin in 2017 for certain providers

For more information, click to seePress Release ▪  Quick Guide  ▪  Decision Tool   

 



ITWNational Health IT Week - September 15-19

The Rhode Island Quality Institute is proud to be a National Health IT Week Partner. Initially designed to raise national awareness of health information technology, National Health IT week offers the opportunity for some celebration in its ninth year. Supported by Regional Extension Centers nationwide, today more than 91 percent of REC-enrolled physicians have adopted a basic electronic health record and over 152,000 providers are moving through the stages of Meaningful Use.  To learn more about how the RI Regional Extension Center can assist you in your adoption and use of health information technology, visit www.DocEHRtalk.org.


OH
You are invited to our first CurrentCare Open House!
Come by to see what the buzz is all about

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  • Already 254 Rhode Island healthcare practices have chosen to get access to CurrentCare, our statewide health information exchange and
  • Over 413,000 Rhode Islanders have enrolled and said 'yes' to sharing their health information 

Learn how to enroll your patients and get access to a wealth of information - including 90% of all RI prescription data, 85% of all RI lab data, and admission, discharge, and transfer alerts from all the acute care hospitals in the state.

 

Space is limited so register quickly and no later than September 16th. 

The event is free and we will provide a light dinner.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

5:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Rhode Island Quality Institute

50 Holden Street, Suite 300 ▪ Providence, RI  02908

Plenty of free parking - click here for directions.
 

Special Opportunity - We will offer a live CurrentCare Viewer Training at 5:00 PM.  You will have an opportunity to register for training when you register for the Open House by clicking here.

Follow CurrentCare on Twitter
RIVRI Veterans and CurrentCare

On Tuesday, August 26, 2014, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island Quality Institute, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs held an information session at Memorial Hospital for leaders and advocates from the veterans community to learn how CurrentCare can be used for coordination of care between VA providers and others in the community who may also provide medical treatment to veterans. Last year, with support from the Rhode Island Foundation, RIQI began an initiative to give Rhode Island veterans the many advantages of CurrentCare.

 

The information session was focused on extending the health information network to patients at Providence's Veterans Affairs Medical Center and throughout the VA health system in Rhode Island. Attendees learned about CurrentCare from Senator Whitehouse and RIQI CEO Laura Adams, and were given a CurrentCare demonstration. 

Pictured left to right: Daniel Evangelista, Chief, Office of Veterans Affairs, State of Rhode Island;
Laura Adams, President & CEO, Rhode Island Quality Institute; David Ashley, MD, Director, Family Care Center at Memorial Hospital; U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.


  

























YOUYou can make a difference in how CurrentCare services are built!

 
Do you have ideas you would like to share of how CurrentCare services can be developed? The Rhode Island Quality Institute is looking for care team members who would like to have a voice in how CurrentCare services evolve. If you have an interest in participating in an upcoming focus group, please register for more information here: http://tinyurl.com/CCFocusGroups
MEAN
Meaningful Use Tip: 
Are you worried about a Meaningful Use audit?

 

Any practice participating in Meaningful Use may be selected for audit, so it's important to be prepared should your practice be chosen.  The staff at KevinMD.com has created a list of five simple things your practice can do now to help prepare for a potential audit.  Review the article here.
     

 

 
DONT
Don't miss these upcoming events
 
HIPAA Compliance Update: Lessons Learned from Real Investigations and Enforcement Actions


Friday, September 12, 2014

7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Presenter: Linn Foster Freedman, Partner at Nixon Peabody

 

Please join us for a live webinar presentation with industry leading attorney Linn Foster Freedman of Nixon Peabody. Linn will focus her presentation on current activities and real investigations of HIPAA compliance and how your practice can proactively mitigate risks often encountered within the healthcare industry. Please join us as we speak with Linn about current activities within the data breach and HIPAA compliance world. After the presentation, we will gladly open up the session for Q&A with attendees.

 

This session will also offer certification as compliance to fulfill the annual HIPAA training requirement. Certificates will be emailed to attendees after the session.

 

About the presenter: Linn Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, and complex litigation at Nixon Peabody. She is leader of the firm's Privacy & Data Protection group and chair of the firm's HIPAA Compliance team and currently serves as General Counsel to the Rhode Island Quality Institute. Linn focuses on compliance with all state and federal privacy and security laws and regulations, as well as emergency data breach response and mitigation. She advises clients on state and federal data privacy and security investigations and data breaches. 

 

Register

 

REConnection Live 

Friday, September 19, 2014

8:00 AM - 8:30 AM

Presenters: Peggy Menna & Brian Miller, RI REC


Join us for this brief webinar where we'll give you updates on items contained in this issue of REConnection.  In this session, we'll focus on the newly published CMS Final Rule and discuss the latest news in Healthcare Information Technology.  As always, we will open the floor for questions of current topics after the session.
 

Register

 

 

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Follow RIQI on Twitter
RIQIRIQI Named the Providence Business News' 2014 Most Innovative Company - Healthcare 
The Providence Business News recently announced the winners of their Fastest-Growing & Innovative Companies awards. The Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI) was recognized at a ceremony on Sept 10th at Newport's Rosecliff Mansion for the most innovative in the healthcare category.

H5
Health IT Professional Certification
The RI Regional Extension Center offers free licenses to take online Health IT professional certification courses.  Upon successful completion of a course, you can add the appropriate credential after your name. This offer is available to Rhode Island primary care providers and specialists, their office staff, and any Rhode Island-based college student enrolled in a health IT-related course of study.  
 
Click here for more information about this programor contact the RI REC at
888-858-4815. Participation is available on a first-come, first-served
 basis and available through December 2014.
 

MJRhode Island Medical Journal:

RIQI is pleased to share the August and September 2014 editions of the Rhode Island Medical Journal, the monthly publication  of the Rhode Island Medical Society.  
 

View the August Edition 


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The RI Regional Extension Center (RI REC) is a service of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and value of health care in Rhode Island. To learn more, visit www.DocEHRtalk.org.

 

RI REC and its services and materials are made possible through a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology with US Department of Health and Human Services support.

REConnection is intended to provide the Rhode Island healthcare community and other interested stakeholders with timely news and information about RI REC's programs, resources, and educational activities that support the adoption of health information technology.


To learn more about participating in RI REC's EHR Adoption, HIE/CurrentCare, and Direct Adoption Programs, please call  888-924-4156 or write to [email protected].