A Poll on RECs

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Five Reasons We Think Regional Extension Centers are Reckless

By Houston Neal

Software Advice

http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical

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Hi Dr. Marcinko and all ME-P Readers

I hope you are doing well. I am hosting a poll about RECs on my blog at: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/five-reasons-we-think-recs-are-reckless-1092310/#survey 

I’m hoping to get as many participants as possible to make this a meaningful survey. I’d really appreciate your help spreading the word to your ME-P membership.

Digital White e-Paper

The poll coincides with an article I wrote on “5 Reasons We Think Regional Extension Centers are RECkless.” I’m excited to see progress of HITECH Act initiatives, but I’m skeptical that throwing money at the problem will lead to efficient and successful adoption of EHRs.

Assessment

It would also be interesting to read any anecdotes you might have about Regional Extension Centers. Please let me know what you and your readers think:

(512) 364-0117 (office)
(800) 918-2764 (toll free)
houston@softwareadvice.com

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More About Regional Extension Centers

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

RECs Explained

By Shahid N. Shah; MS 

www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com

The Meaningful Use and Certification requirements along with the myriad of government regulations around Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will be too complicated for most physicians to understand and manage on their own. To help out small practices, one of the interesting things funded by the HITECH Act was the creation of the Health Information Technology Extension Program. Via that program, the Department of Health and Human Services is required to invest in Regional Extension Centers (called “RECs” and pronounced like “wrecks”). RECs are designed to offer consulting and technical support to physicians in order to help accelerate adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

Purpose

The purpose of the RECs is to provide guidance on which products to buy, help reduce prices of software through group purchase agreements, and give technical assistance on implementation and deployment. These services will be free of charge to physicians. However, keep in mind that all RECs are non-profit organizations and most have little or no inherent knowledge about EMRs, EHRs, implementations, deployments, computer skills, etc.; initially they are groups that responded to the grant request in a manner that fulfilled documentation required by the government and will be provided government money to help Physicians become meaningful users [MUs].

No Cost Advice

In the short run no RECs will be very good because they will all be inexperienced. Over the long run, some RECs will become very good at their jobs while other RECs will be mediocre or not good at all; only time will tell which ones will be superb and helpful vs. not. Since RECs will be paid by the government for each physician they sign up, RECs will be very eager to approach and conduct outreach to sign you up. And, it will not cost you anything to sign up and the advice and assistance will be free to MDs.

Assessment

Keep in mind, though, that whenever something is free to you, always think about why it’s free. What does the organization get out of providing you free advice, assistance, knowledge, etc. – in the case of RECs, it’s is money from the government. The good news is that RECs are being told by the government that will only be paid if you become a “meaningful user.” However, the bad news is that some RECs will not be able to do a good job and may give you bad advice.

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Sevocity® Announces Free Electronic Health Records (EHR) System

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

For Educators and Regional Extension Centers (REC)

ADVERTISEMENT

By Catherine G. Huddle

VP, Market Development

www.Sevocity.com

Ph: (210) 412-5653

True Internet / Cloud EHR System Ideal for Educating Providers, Clinical Staff, and REC Support Staff

San Antonio, TX –Sevocity, a division of Conceptual MindWorks, Inc. (CMI), today announced Sevocity U, its Internet-based Ambulatory Electronic Health Records (EHR) program for Regional Extension Centers (RECs), Local Extension Centers (LECs), Management Service Organizations (MSOs), Technical Colleges, Universities, Medical Schools, and other organizations needing a turn-key EHR for training.

The Program

Under the program, educational organizations will receive free use of the fully functional Sevocity EHR for up to 20 users (teachers and students) through a demonstration clinic specifically for the educational organization.   Because Sevocity is a true Internet-based EHR, these organizations will not need to purchase, install, or maintain any servers or special software.  All that is required to access the system is a standard personal computer and an Internet connection, making student access for training and practice easy for the educator.  Sevocity U demonstration clinics will use the fully functional production version of Sevocity EHR.

CCHIT Certified

Sevocity 08 is CCHIT Certified® by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) and meets the Commission’s ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) criteria for 2008.  Sevocity will release its next version of Sevocity EHR this summer, at which time the company will apply for CCHIT 2011.  Sevocity is also committed to “meaningful use” certification and plans to apply as soon as certification is available.  Sevocity’s customer agreement includes a commitment to certification and any other requirements for providers to receive EHR incentives under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA).

“We developed this program because we recognize the tremendous challenge Regional Extension Centers and other educators have teaching clinicians and others about Electronic Health Records in a very short period of time and with limited funding,” stated Catherine Huddle, VP of Market Development with Sevocity.   “While more standardization of EHRs is coming, today most systems have the same basic functionality.  Because Sevocity is a true Internet-based EHR and is very easy to use, it provides the ideal platform for educators providing EHR training.”

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Assessment

Sevocity is rolling out this program in phases. Phase I begins today with the availability of Sevocity to the first ten (10) educational organizations that apply. Interested organizations should contact Sevocity at 877-777-2298 or EHReducation@Sevocity.com.

About Sevocity

Based in San Antonio, Texas, Sevocity empowers physician practices and health centers to embrace electronic health record (EHRs) by providing an easy-to-use, Internet-based electronic health record system. Because Sevocity EHR is an Internet-based (or cloud computing) product that provides secure access to clinical information via the Internet, practices and health centers avoid the expensive upfront capital expenditure and ongoing maintenance costs associated with client/server offerings. For more information about Sevocity, visit www.sevocity.com or call (877) 777-2298.

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