Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center

Assisting Medical Practices with Implementation of Electronic Health Record Systems

Quality Quest has been designated as a satellite office for the Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (IL-HITREC) for the central portion of Illinois. The primary purpose of the regional extension center is to assist primary care physicians associated with smaller clinical practices, federally qualified health centers, and rural and critical access hospitals with the selection and implementation of certified electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Creation of the regional extension centers is part of a federal effort to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records nationwide. Funded by the economic stimulus bill passed last spring (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), $19 billion has been allocated to facilitate those efforts, including money to establish 70 regional extension centers nationwide. These centers are funded through an award from the Office of the National Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services (Grant 90RC0023/01)

IL-HITREC is headquartered at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and delivers services through a system of satellite offices in northwestern Illinois, suburban Chicago, central Illinois, and southern Illinois. Quality Quest is a host site for IL-HITREC and is responsible for working with physicians in 38 counties in central Illinois.

IL-HITREC is a consortium of partners that include: Illinois Critical Access Hospital Association, Illinois Hospital Association, Illinois Public Health Institute, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois Physicians for Connectivity, Northern Illinois University, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation, and Quality Quest for Health of Illinois.

As an IL-HITREC satellite office, we assist medical practices by:

• Educating physicians about the benefits of electronic health records;
• Helping them identify certified products that will best meet their needs;
• Connecting them with vendors to install and implement the systems;
• Assisting them in getting those systems up and running;
• Helping physicians keep up to date on best practices related to issues like clinical decision support, protecting patient confidentiality and best use of electronic health records software.

Physicians will be able to utilize IL-HITREC's services at minimal cost. The grant money covers 90 percent of this expense. Physicians will also be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs for implementing electronic medical records programs that meet meaningful use standards. Achieving this meaningful use goal will protect physicians from reduced Medicare reimbursement projected to kick-in in 2014.

IL-HITREC works primarily with priority care providers - family practitioners, doctors of internal medicine, pediatricians and obstetricians who serve Medicare /Medicaid patients and other underserved populations. Those physicians provide about 80 percent of the nation's healthcare, but only about 20 percent currently utilize electronic health records systems. Visit www.ILHITREC.org for more information.

The counties covered in the central llinois REC region include: Adams, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Hancock, Iroquois, Knox, La Salle, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren and Woodford.

To find out if your practice qualifies for assistance, please fill out the online Qualification Survey.  To learn more, read our FAQ page.  Please contact Joy Duling at joy@qqhie.com or 309-202-1599 with any questions.