As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) awarded grants to support the adoption of HIT. These grants are supporting the creation and operation of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs), which will provide education and technical assistance to help eligible primary care practices select, implement, and achieve meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Those providers who achieve meaningful use will be eligible for incentive payments from Medicare and Medicaid.
Six Wisconsin health care organizations collaboratively submitted an application for and were awarded a grant to become the HITRC for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Health Information Technology Extension Center (WHITEC) is being operated as a division of MetaStar and the WHITEC Steering Committee provides oversight of the center. The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from the six partnering organizations.
WHITEC's focus is on ensuring that health care professionals practicing in Wisconsin are able to attain meaningful use of electronic health records and improve health care quality and efficiency in their practices. Services are available to all health care professionals practicing in Wisconsin but financial subsidies are available to priority primary care providers, which are defined as physicians and other health care professionals with prescribing privileges in small group practice of ten or less providers; ambulatory clinics connected to a public or critical access hospital; community health centers or rural health clinics; and other ambulatory setting predominantly serving uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved populations.
Services available to participants include:
- Initial readiness assessment
- Individualized strategic plan for reaching meaningful use
- Workflow analysis and redesign tools
- Selection, contracting, and purchasing tools
- HIT installation and implementation assistance
- EHR optimization and meaningful use achievement
If you are interested in applying to work with WHITEC, please complete and submit the Application to Participate form.
Specific questions about WHITEC or about participation should be directed to:
Jesi Wang, CPHIT, CPEHR
Project Director
WHITEC
608-729-2700 or 866-710-4212 |