CHICAGO, IL, January 8, 2013 – SA Ignite, Inc., a provider of software solutions that streamline and automate the “last mile” to reaching Meaningful Use (MU) of electronic health records (EHR), and the Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC) today announced a strategic partnership.
CHITREC, a collaboration between Northwestern University and the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, will utilize SA Ignite’s MU Assistant®, dubbed the EHR Meaningful Use “TurboTax® equivalent” for its ability to automate clients’ MU reporting and achieve one-click electronic attestation to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs offering up to $63,750 per provider, CHITREC has a grant to support 1,486 eligible primary care providers as they adopt, implement and achieve Meaningful Use of EHRs. CHITREC is expanding its services to assist additional primary care providers and specialty practices.
Tom Lee, PhD, CEO and Founder of Chicago-based SA Ignite, became interested in Meaningful Use while helping CHITREC write its REC grant. Dr. Lee and the team at CHITREC have been working together in one form or fashion since 2009 and share a passion for both the value EHRs provide to the healthcare system and a deep belief that the data captured across populations will be the cornerstone of healthcare progress and efficiency for the foreseeable future.
“It is a real thrill to come full circle with CHITREC. The seed of the idea for MU Assistant was sown when I worked at Northwestern University’s world-class institution, and now, three years later, to have CHITREC choose SA Ignite as a partner is a nice milestone in our company’s continued growth,” Lee said.
CHITREC marks the third REC to contract with SA Ignite. Among other milestones, SA Ignite recently signed agreements with Intermountain Health Care, GW Medical Faculty Associates, Quincy Medical Group and The Franciscan Hammond Clinic.
MU Assistant, a cloud-based software solution, automatically aggregates and monitors MU measures across multiple EHR systems and provides decision support tools such as enabling easy selection of 90-day windows (for Medicare Payment Year 1) and suggesting MU exclusions that providers may claim. The MU Assistant then electronically files providers’ data to the CMS attestation web site, providing a one-click attestation process, and electronically archives supporting data for potential audits.
“At CHITREC we are focused on being a health IT hub in Chicago, helping maximize the number of providers who achieve Meaningful Use,” said Abel Kho, MD, MS, co-executive director of CHITREC. “We know from our past experience working with SA Ignite that MU Assistant offers us an intuitive EHR dashboard and an effective and efficient path to helping providers achieve Meaningful Use.”
TurboTax® is a registered trademark of Intuit, Inc.
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About CHITREC
The Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC) is a collaboration between Northwestern University the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services and more than 40 local and national partners focused on HIT adoption and use within the city of Chicago. CHITREC is a local service organization, specifically serving the 606xx zip code region in Chicago, and provides a range of services to primary care providers interested in achieving meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR). As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT has provided initial funding for the regional extension center with most of the funds allocated for direct assistance to providers.
About SA Ignite, Inc.
SA Ignite, Inc. builds innovative software products that enable unprecedented improvements in EHR usage. Its software solutions streamline the Meaningful Use (MU) reporting process and automate the identification of root causes behind usage problems. Now serving more than 3,000 providers, SA Ignite’s products work with any EHR system without requiring the assistance of EHR vendors. SA Ignite believes monitoring and improving EHR usage can bring transformative improvements to healthcare efficiency. Visit www.saignite.com.