The Oklahoma Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center

With the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) the government has created a network of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers to provide direct technical assistance to primary care providers in small practices to adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records (EHR). Regional Extension Centers will work directly with practitioner offices to identify effective strategies to select, implement, and meaningfully use certified EHR technology. The Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) was awarded the cooperative agreement to serve as the Regional Extension Center for the state, and is actively recruiting practices to provide support on implementation of an EHR. There is some urgency for physician practices to consider work with the Regional Extension Center since the federal matching funding for the program will be substantially reduced beginning in 2012, and because the incentive funds for a practice that adopts and meaningfully uses an EHR are reduced beginning in 2013.