Although CHITREC's mandate and grant authority is to support primary care providers, CHITREC can assist specialists. However, support for specialist will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may entail a CHITREC fee-for-service offering.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or "the stimulus bill," provides additional Medicaid and Medicare payments to physicians that demonstrate "Meaningful EHR Use" – the foundation of successful EHR implementation.
EHRs and health information exchange can help clinicians provide higher quality and safer care for their patients and create tangible enhancements for their practices. By adopting electronic health records in a meaningful way, clinicians can:
CHITREC is a resource for primary care providers (PCPs) in Chicago (606xx area code). Although we can help any Chicago provider, our focus is on practices of 10 providers or less, or those PCPs who provide care for the uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved. Those PCPs can be eligible for CHITREC direct assistance funding.
General and technical assistance will be provided to all participating practices. A customized roadmap will be developed for each participant based on the results of a readiness assessment that will be completed at the early stages of participation. Participants will receive tailored assistance for achieving meaningful use based on their assessment.
Services will begin in June 2010, once funding is distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services. In the interim, interested providers and practices are encouraged to contact CHITREC at: [email protected]
As defined by the HITECH Act, priority primary care providers are physicians (Internal Medicine, Family Practice, OB/GYN, Pediatrics) and other healthcare professionals (PA, NP, Nurse Midwife) with prescribing privileges in the following settings: