Health Information Technology and Quality Newsletter

Letter from Leadership on HRSA Health IT and Quality Initiatives

Letter from the Director, Office of Health IT & Quality:

Welcome to the new Monthly HRSA Health Information Technology (IT) and Quality Newsletter.  This newsletter will provide monthly updates on upcoming trainings, activities, and information related to health IT and quality across HRSA and the safety net community. 

We welcome feedback and ideas on additional features to add to this newsletter, including reports from colleagues across HRSA who are engaged in activities using health IT and quality improvement to increase healthcare quality.

Please send any feedback or comments to LT. Michael Banyas at mbanyas@hrsa.gov or healthit@hrsa.gov.

Sincerely,
Yael Harris
Director, Office of Health IT & Quality

Upcoming Health IT and Quality Events

• Bureau of Primary Health Care Webcast: “Introduction to Effective Behavioral Health in Primary Care” June 1st - 1pm to 2:30pm ET. Click here to register.

• Bureau of Primary Health Care Teleconference: “The Quality Journey: Paths to High Performance”, June 7^th - 3pm to 4:15pm ET. Click here to register.

• HIV/AIDS Bureau Webcast, “Finding the Link: Using Data Reports to Initiate QI Projects”, June 16^th. Click here to register.

• HRSA Health IT and Quality Webinar, "Tips on Using Health IT Within A Patient Centered Medical Home For The Safety Net Community" June 24, 2pm ET. Click here to register.

Other Federal and Non-Federal Events

• ONC Workgroup on Clinical Quality: June 6^th - 2pm ET. This meeting will be available via webcast. Click here for more information.

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Workshop, "A Community-Building Workshop: Measuring, Evaluating and Improving the Usability of Electronic Health Records”, June 7^th, NIST’s Campus, Gaithersburg, MD. Click here for more information and to register.

• ONC  Health IT Policy Workgroup, June 8^th -  10am to 3pm EST, Renaissance Hotel Washington. Click here for more information and to register.

• Iowa Rural Health Association Webcast: “The Ins and Outs of Telemedicine - A Regional Review”, June 9^th - 12pm to 1pm CT. Click here to register.

• HIMSS “Government Health IT Conference”, June 14 and 15, 2011, Renaissance Hotel, Washington D.C., Click here for more information and to register.

Meaningful Use Round Up

HRSA’s Bureaus and Offices are coordinating with our HHS sister agencies and offices to ensure that HRSA staff and grantees have the necessary technical assistance materials and information on Meaningful Use. For example:

• Recently posted on the HRSA Health IT website is a new frequently asked question document on Meaningful Use for health centers.

• In February, HRSA staff hosted a one day retreat with Project Officers from the Office of the National Coordination for Health Information Technology (ONC).  HRSA staff learned about recent developments in ONC’s HITECH programs and briefed ONC staff on HRSA’s grantee programs and population.

• CMS has released a new list of states that are now providing Medicaid EHR Incentive Payments to providers demonstrating meaningful use. Learn more about the Medicaid state EHR Incentive programs.

• HRSA Staff are working with CMS and ONC on the upcoming interim rule for Meaningful Use’s Stage 2 requirements.

Please see the HRSA Health IT Website for Meaningful Use updates and technical resources specifically for the safety net community.

Health IT Grantee Spotlight

This month, the HRSA Health IT Grantee Spotlight highlights the fantastic work of the National Rural Health Resource Center’s Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) based in Duluth, Minnesota. Since 1999, TASC has provided technical assistance education and tools to critical access hospitals (CAHs) and HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program grantees.

Please visit HRSA’s Health IT Spotlight webpage for more information on the great work of this grantee, as well as previous HRSA grantee spotlights.