Frequently Asked Questions - Regional Extension Center
The HIT Regional Extension Centers were established as part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, (Title IV in Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) authorizing financial incentives to Medicare and Medicaid providers' who achieve meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology and are funded through as award from the Office of the National Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services.
The purpose of the Regional Extension Centers (REC) is to provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to priority primary care providers in their region to assist them in selecting, successfully implementing, and achieving meaningful use of certified EHR products.
The Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC) is a partnership among Northwestern University, the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services and more than 40 local and national collaborators focused on HIT adoption and use needs 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 National Coordinator for HIT has provided initial funding for the regional extension center with most of the funds allocated for direct assistance to providers.
Specifically, CHITREC was selected and awarded through an objective review process by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator of HIT (ONC), as the designated organization in Chicago to support primary health care providers on EHR adoption and meaningful use.
CHITREC serves as a direct pipeline to the national program health IT adoption and brings local expertise to support individual primary care practices, critical access hospitals (CAHs), federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and other providers with necessary technical assistance for successful EHR implementation.
CHITREC leverages its connection to a national collaborative of regional extension centers (RECs) to provide key insights on EHRs and scalable implementation solutions.
The CHITREC serving area addresses more than 2,400 primary care providers in the concentrated 606xx zip code area. The majority of these PCPs care for the under/uninsured and medically underserved in Chicago.
ONC (HIT) is the Office of the National Coordinator (for Health Information Technology). It is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.