HITECHAn ONC Perspective

Craig BrammerCraig.Brammer@HHS.gov

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

June 18, 2010

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)

• Resource for the entire U.S. health system

• Supports and coordinates efforts to improve health care through:

– Adoption of health information technology (HIT)

– Nationwide health information exchange (HIE)

• Created in 2004, then mandated in 2009 in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

HITECH Vision 

• A major transformation in American health care

• Each patient receives optimal care through nationwide health information exchange

• Programs and regulations to help you overcome obstacles to adoption and Meaningful Use of electronic health records (EHRs)

Nationwide Health Information Exchange: Benefits

• Private, secure, and comprehensive EHRs mean more informed clinical decision-making

• Better clinician-patient communication

• Efficient and convenient delivery of care

• Early diagnosis of disease, with potential to improve health outcomes and reduce costs

• Improved patient safety

• Efficiencies for administrative tasks

Challenge: EHR Adoption Levels

Challenge: EHR Adoption Levels

Hospital adoption levels:• 1.5% percent of U.S. hospitals have a

comprehensive electronic records system

• An additional 7.6% have a basic system

• Only 17% of hospitals have implemented computerized provider-order entry for medications

Source: Jha A, DesRoches C, Campbell E, Donelan K, Rao S, Ferris T, Shields A, Rosenbaum S, Blumenthal D. “Use of Electronic Health Records in U.S. Hospitals”. New England Journal of Medicine: 360;16. April 16, 2009.

Barriers to EHR Adoption

44%

29%36%

24% 24%37%

51% 54%45%

39% 41%

67%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Lack ofcapital

Uncertaintyof ROI

Finding asystem thatmeets your

needs

Systembecomingobsolete

Capacity toimplement

Loss ofproductivity

Have an EHR Do not have functional EHR

Percent of Physicians Reporting a “Major Barrier”

Source: DesRoches CM et al. Electronic health records in ambulatory care—a national survey of physicians. N Engl J Med. 359(1):50-60, 2008 Jul 3.

Federal Government Responds: HITECH Act• Part of American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)• Goal: Every American to have an

EHR by 2014• Systematically addresses major

barriers to adoption and Meaningful Use:– Money/market reform– Technical assistance, support, and

better information– Health information exchange– Privacy and security

Privacy and Security: The HITECH Response

• Bans sale of health information• Requires ongoing audit trail• Strengthens civil and criminal enforcement of

HIPAA• Expands patient rights to access their

information• Requires innovative encryption technology to

prevent breaches• Requires HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to

provide consumer education about protected health information

HITECH Regulations and Programs

• Standards and Certification Criteria• Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs (including

Meaningful Use)• Regional Extension Centers (RECs)• State Health Information Exchange (HIE)• Workforce Training Programs• Beacon Communities• Strategic Health Information Technology Advanced

Research Projects (SHARP)• Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)

How HITECH Addresses Barriers to Adoption

Obstacle Intervention Funds Allocated

Market Failure, Need for Financial Resources

• Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs for “Meaningful Use”

• $27.3 B*

Addressing Adoption Difficulties

• Regional Extension Centers• Health IT Research/Resource Center

• $643 M• $50 M

Workforce Training • Workforce Training Programs • $84 M

Addressing TechnologyChallenges and ProvidingBreakthrough Examples

• Strategic Health Information Technology Advanced Research Projects

• Beacon Communities Programs

• $60 M

• $250 M

Privacy and Security• Policy Framework• New Privacy and Security Policies

Addressedacross allPrograms

Need for Platform for Health Information Exchange

• NHIN, Standards and Certification• State Cooperative Agreement

Program

• $64.3 M• $548 M

*$27.3 B is high scenario

HITECH: How the Pieces Fit Together

Medicare and Medicaid Incentives and Penalties

Health IT Practice Research

Improved Individual & Population Health

Outcomes

IncreasedTransparency &

Efficiency

ImprovedAbility to Study &

Improve Care Delivery

ADOPTION

EXCHANGE

State Grants forHealth Information Exchange

Standards & Certification Framework

Privacy & Security Framework

Regional Extension Centers

Workforce Training

MEANINGFUL USE

12

Standards and Certification Criteria

• Develop interoperability specifications that:– Identify harmonized standards– Provide detailed technical specifications for

how those standards need to be used• Work with health care organizations and

standards-development organizations to ensure that standards are available for use nationally

EHR Incentive Programs and Meaningful Use

• Criteria for Medicare- and Medicaid-eligible professionals and hospitals to receive incentives for using certified EHR technology in a meaningful manner

• The Recovery Act specifies the following 3 components of Meaningful Use:

1. Use of certified EHR in a meaningful manner (e.g., e-prescribing)

2. Use of certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of care

3. Use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality and other measures

Meaningful Use: Health Outcome Policy Priorities

• Improving quality, safety, efficiency, and reducing health disparities

• Engage patients and families in their health care

• Improve care coordination

• Improve population and public health

• Ensure adequate privacy and security protections for personal health information

Regional Extension Centers (RECs)

• Goal: Assist at least 100,000 providers in achieving Meaningful Use by 2012

• Establish RECs nationwide to support providers in adopting and becoming Meaningful Users of HIT through comprehensive, “on-the-ground” services:

– Outreach and education– EHR vendor selection support– Project management assistance– Workflow redesign support– Help with achieving Meaningful Use

RECs

Focus on supporting primary care providers that are least likely to achieve Meaningful Use on their own:

• Small practices with less then 10 providers• Public and critical access hospitals• Community health centers and rural health

clinics

Current RECsUnited States Regional Extension Centers

*Note: applicable regions across the nation may also be supported by the Indian Health Board Regional Extension Center, headquartered in Washington DC.

ID Organization Cohort1 Hawaii Health Information Exchange 2

2Northern California Regional Extension Center 1

3Southern California Regional Extension Center 1

4Local Initiative Health Authority for Los Angeles County 2

5 Arizona Health-eConnection 26 Lovelace Clinic 1

7Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 2

8The TAMUS Health Science Center Research Foundation 2

9Univ. of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston 2

10 eQHealth Solutions, Inc. 211 Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum 212 Community Health Centers Alliance, Inc 213 University of South Florida-- USF Health 214 Health Choice Network, Inc. 115 UCF College of Medicine 216 South Carolina Research Foundation 2

17VHQC and the Center for Innovative Technology, for The Virginia Consortium 1

18 National Indian Health Board 2

19District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA) 1

20 Quality Insights of Delaware 221 NJ Institute of Technology 222 Fund for Public Health NY 123 New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) 124 eHealth Connecticut Inc. 225 Rhode Island Quality Institute 126 Massachusetts Technology Collaborative 127 HealthInfoNet 228 Vermont Information Technology Leaders 1

ID Organization Cohort29 North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program 130 Quality Insights of Pennsylvania (Eastern) 231 Quality Insights of Pennsylvania (Western) 232 Chesapeake Regional Information For Our Patients 233 West Virginia Health Improvement Institute, Inc. 1

34National Center for Primary Care, Morehouse School of Medicine 1

35University of South Alabama Center for Strategic Health Innovation 2

36Dallas- Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation 2

37 Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality 138 Arkansas Foundation For Medical Care 139 Qsource (TN) 140 University of Kentucky/UK HealthCare 241 Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge 142 Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP) 143 Altarum Institute 144 Purdue University 145 Northwestern University 146 Northern Illinois University 147 MetaStar, Inc. 148 The Curators of the University of Missouri 249 Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. 150 CIMRO of Nebraska 151 Iowa IFMC 152 Key Health Alliance (Stratis Health) 153 South Dakota HIT Regional Extension Center 254 Colorado RHIO 155 HealthInsight 156 Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation 257 OCHIN, Inc. 158 Qualis Health 159 Alaska eHealth Network 2

REC Map Legend

•Accelerate the adoption and meaningful use of EHRs•The HITRC Convenes Regional Extension Centers and Provides tools and expertise

toward collaboration in accelerating adoption and meaningful use of health information technology that is used to improve the quality of patient care.

Mission

•When HITRC successfully realizes it mission, there will be at least 100,000 priority primary care physicians meaningfully using EHRs by 2012; all by 2014

Vision

•Full (100%) participation in the Knowledge Sharing Network•The leading source of easily accessible health IT implementation information•Steady increase in level of EHR implementation capabilities and expertise

Goals

•Convene Regional Extension Centers•Provide Technical Assistance•Deliver usable tools and artifacts (“stuff”)

Objectives

The HITRCHelps people who get providers to meaningful

use

State Health Information Exchange

• Goal: Give every provider options for meeting health information exchange (HIE) Meaningful Use requirements

• 4-year program to support state programs to ensure the development of HIE within and across their jurisdictions

• 56 states and territories awarded funding for HIE planning and implementation

• States need an ONC-approved State Plan before federal funding can be used for implementation

• Exchange must meet national standards

Workforce Training Programs

• Goal: Help train up to 50,000 new HIT workers to assist providers in becoming Meaningful Users of EHRs

• Four distinct programs that aim to support the education of new HIT professionals, including:

– Community college consortia– Curriculum development centers– University-based training– Competency examination program

Workforce Training Programs

Community College ConsortiaFive regional multi-institution

consortia, creating non-degree training programs that can be

completed in six months or less.

Curriculum Development CentersFive awards to develop educational materials for key HIT topics to be

used by Community College Consortia program.

University-Based Training ProgramsNine awards supporting existing programs to produce trained HIT

professionals (most courses of study completed in ≤12 months).

Competency Examination ProgramOne award to create an objective

assessment of basic competency for HIT individuals (non-degree

programs and other members of workforce).

Work Force: Community College Consortia Program

Population and Target Grant Community Colleges by RegionRegion A B C D E TotalCensus Population 23,171,056 47,460,504 65,115,773 97,020,826 75,669,343 308,437,502Percentage of National Population 8% 15% 21% 31% 25% 100%Minimum Students to be Trained Annually 750 1,650 2,250 3,300 2,550 10,500Target Number of Member Community Colleges 5-8 11-14 13-18 16-22 17-23 70Funding Allocation $6,200,000 $10,750,000 $14,650,000 $21,150,000 $17,250,000 $70,000,000

The Beacon Community Program

• Goal: Share best practices that help communities achieve cost savings and health improvement

• 15 demonstration communities* that will:

– Build and strengthen their HIT infrastructure and exchange capabilities and showcase the Meaningful Use of EHRs

– Provide valuable lessons to guide other communities to achieve measurable improvement in the quality and efficiency of health services or public health outcomes

*Two additional communities to be funded in Summer 2010

Strategic Health Information Technology Advanced Research Projects (SHARP)

• Funded research program to find breakthrough advances to overcome barriers to HIT adoption

• Projects focus on: – Security– Patient-centered cognitive support– Health care application and network-platform

architectures– Secondary use of EHR data

The Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)

• A set of policies, standards, and services that enable the secure exchange of health information over the Internet

• Defines nationally recognized standards for interoperability and promotes their use in EHRs through certification programs

NHIN• Improves patient care by linking:

– Health information exchanges– Integrated delivery networks– Pharmacies– Government– Labs– Providers– Payers– Other stakeholders

• Not a large database of patient records or a physical network that runs on HHS servers

For More Information

Visit the ONC Web site: healthit.hhs.gov