ATLANTA, Oct. 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Georgia Health Information Technology Extension Center (GA-HITEC), Georgia's only federally endorsed health information technology center announced today that 92% of its current member providers have gone live on certified electronic health record (EHR) technology with 2,134 (53% of target) achieving Meaningful Use (MU). GA-HITEC, along with its partners, assisted eligible members in receiving $34M in incentive payments through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
GA-HITEC ranks 8th nationally among the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC's) 62 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) in the number of providers achieving MU. According to GA-HITEC Executive Director, Kim Bell, "surpassing the half-way point in our overall target of nearly 4,000 Georgia primary care member providers to EHR meaningful use is a direct result of the services provided through GA-HITEC and a testament to the resources and expertise available as Georgia's federally-endorsed HIT Regional Extension Center."
Within national rankings, GA-HITEC is among six RECs who have attained 53% of its provider members demonstrating Stage 1 meaningful use. Comparatively, the national median for M3 is 45%. In conjunction with its partners, GA-HITEC assisted its members in achieving this recognition utilizing a community-oriented team of clinicians, practice managers, and health information technology professionals. The GA-HITEC team specializes in working with provider members primarily comprised of small physician practices, and critical access and rural hospitals. Utilizing a 10-Step Roadmap to EHR Meaningful Use, GA-HITEC provides members direct, reliable and rapid access to key information on the EHR implementation process to simplify the path to meaningful use.
For more information about GA-HITEC visit http://ga-hitec.org, email info@ga-hitec.org or, phone 1-877-658-1990.
About GA-HITEC
The Georgia Health Information Technology Extension Center (GA-HITEC) is Georgia's only federally endorsed health information technology center focused on providing technical assistance to providers and hospitals throughout the entire Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation process and beyond, including assistance with the reporting required to qualify for and receive CMS EHR Incentive Program payments. GA-HITEC's broad and practical Health Information Technology (HIT) expertise assists practices and hospitals with improving the quality of care for patients and maximizing overall productivity through the meaningful use of EHR systems.