Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA.
Ann Intern Med. 2010 Nov 16;153(10):666-70. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-153-10-201011160-00011.
Many physicians face financial and organizational barriers that inhibit their adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems. The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act included provisions to facilitate the transition from paper to electronic records, including Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to support the adoption and meaningful use of EHR systems. It also created the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC) program to ease the barriers faced by primary care physicians and rural and critical-access hospitals seeking to implement EHRs. The 60 RECs will administer individualized assistance to primary care practices and rural and critical-access hospitals as they implement new EHR systems or upgrade existing ones. In aggregate, the RECs aim to help 100 000 primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to effectively implement EHR systems and qualify for incentive payments for meaningful use. This article describes the rationale for the REC program and describes how the 60 RECs promote the meaningful use of EHR systems.
许多医生面临财务和组织方面的障碍，这阻碍了他们采用电子健康记录 (EHR) 系统。2009 年《经济与临床健康信息技术法案》（Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act）包含了促进从纸质记录向电子记录过渡的条款，包括医疗保险和医疗补助激励性支付，以支持 EHR 系统的采用和有意义的使用。该法案还创建了健康信息技术区域扩展中心 (REC) 计划，以减轻初级保健医生以及寻求实施 EHR 的农村和关键通道医院面临的障碍。这 60 个 REC 将为实施新的 EHR 系统或升级现有系统的初级保健诊所和农村及关键通道医院提供个性化的帮助。总体而言，REC 的目标是帮助 100,000 名初级保健医生、医师助理和执业护士有效地实施 EHR 系统，并有资格获得有意义使用的激励性支付。本文介绍了 REC 计划的基本原理，并描述了这 60 个 REC 如何促进 EHR 系统的有意义使用。
