PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Precocious 2-year-olds Texas RECs did a lot in past two years
BY CRYSTAL CONDE Texas’ four regional extension centers (RECs) turned two this year, and they have a great deal to celebrate. The centers have enrolled more than 5,900 Texas physi- cians and helped them se- lect, install, and implement electronic health records (EHR) and train their staff members to use them. They also helped many physi- cians achieve meaning- ful use of an EHR to earn Medicare or Medicaid bo- nus payments.
In fact, an analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data by the Institute for Health Technology Trans- formation ranks Texas No. 1 in the number of physi- cians meeting the federal meaningful use criteria in adopting EHRs. The insti- tute said 1,761 Texas phy- sicians attested to meeting meaningful use criteria in 2011. Ohio was second with 1,653, Illinois third at 1,533, Pennsylvania fourth at 1,450, and Florida fifth at 1,387.
The full report is avail-
able by calling (720) 539-1285 or emailing
andrea.thomas@
ihealthtran.com.
The meaningful use criteria make up 25 government-man- dated measures. Physicians must meet 20 of them to be eli- gible for EHR incentives paid by either Medicare or Medicaid. The criteria set various goals to improve the quality, safety,
and efficiency of health care delivery.
James Sawyer, MD, a Diagnostic Clinic of Longview internist, is one of many Texas doctors to achieve meaningful use. He describes the consult- ing services he received through his membership in the North Texas REC as “superb.”
The group practice, which has more than 100 physicians and 20 mid- level practitioners in 18 locations, implemented an EHR system in 2007. “Since that time, the clinic has grown, and we wanted to ensure we didn’t lose out on the meaning- ful use incentives. The North Texas REC filled in the blanks and helped 28 of our physicians and two nurse practitioners achieve meaningful use,” Dr. Saw- yer said.
James Sawyer, MD, says the North Texas Regional Extension Center helped Diagnostic Clinic of Longview earn more than $500,000 in Medicare and Medicaid meaningful use incentives.
That earned the clinic $432,000 in Medicare incentive payments and $129,000 in Medicaid incentives. Dr. Sawyer says the clinic anticipates receiving an additional
$180,000 in Medicare incentive payments and $43,000 from Medicaid later this year. Dr. Sawyer, who helped drive meaningful use efforts within the clinic, says 81 physicians in 44 offices use the EHR system. “When we have one patient who sees multiple physicians, the EHR allows us all to look at the same record and medica-
June 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 31
MATT RAINWATERS
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