Breaking Down the Path to Meaningful Use
Though all EHR adoptions remain unique, each provider’s path toward Meaningful Use includes a veritable checklist of steps that must be addressed. RI’s Regional Extension Center (REC) supports its providers across all of these stages. The following is a roadmap of the key steps that lead to Meaningful Use – whether your practice has no EHR in place or has already begun an implementation - and how REC helps at each one.
There is NO COST to enroll for providers that meet the federal standard for “Priority” Providers.
NO EHR IN PLACE?
- READINESS ASSESSMENT: For providers at the very beginning of the process, REC's assistance will start with a $1,500 subsidy for a Readiness Assessment for EHR implementation. Your process manager will handle your Request for Quote (RFQ) process from technology services consultants that specialize in conducting these assessments. By utilizing REC, selecting a technology services consultant is standardized and structured to simplify the decision-making process to ensure you have the information needed to make the right choice.
- VENDOR SELECTION: During this phase, you'll have access to our online cost-benefit calculator that uses your practice's data to assess the actual costs of an EHR. Your process manager will walk you through the selection process while helping you assess the immediate and future impact of an EHR to your practice. They will also handle the RFQ processes when selecting a software vendor and any technology services consultants to assist with your implementation. Our qualified “Marketplace” of pre-approved vendors and consultants helps you comprehensively compare and contrast your options so that you make the best choices for your practice.
- IMPLEMENTATION AND OPTIMIZATION: Once your EHR is in place, your process manager will work with you to make sure your system and workflows are running smoothly and to correct any issues or problems that might arise.
- MEANINGFUL USE AUDIT: After EHR improvement is completed, REC will support an independent evaluation of your practice's Meaningful Use status. When your audit shows that you have achieved Meaningful Use standards, we'll be able to confirm your eligibility for federal incentive payments. REC will also disperse a $1,000 subsidy payment at to all of our new adopters that have successfully achieved Meaningful Use.
ALREADY HAVE AN EHR?
- OPTIMIZATION ACTIVITIES: REC will walk you through our pre-approved Marketplace of service consultants and handle the RFQ process in selecting the outside support to help you optimize.
- GAP ASSESSMENT: For practices that already have an EHR in place, REC will assist you in improving its utilization and achieving Meaningful Use. Use the Marketplace to have a gap assessment that analyzes your practice's workflows, data collection processes and current state of adoption to determine the places for improvement.
- MEANINGFUL USE AUDIT: After EHR improvement is completed, REC will support an independent evaluation of your practice's Meaningful Use status. When your audit shows that you have achieved Meaningful Use standards, we'll be able to confirm your eligibility for federal incentive payments. REC will also disperse a $2,500 subsidy payment at this time to all of our members that have successfully achieved Meaningful Use.
- CONTINUED QUALITY INITIATIVES: At the end of your EHR adoption process, we will include you in further REC-driven quality initiatives that can improve your practice and advance the quality, safety and value of healthcare in Rhode Island. Including:
- Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH): This initiative facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal physicians. It requires a transformation that engages all members of the practice in providing patient-centered care. Working with REC to optimize your EHR and utilize the data and metrics to care for your patients will allow you to develop a strong foundation to support PCMH transformation. Achieving the technical requirements of EHR Meaningful Use will allow you, when ready, to implement PCMH.