More Than Half Of New Hampshire's Primary Care Providers Have Achieved Meaningful Use Of Electronic Health Records

Regional Extension Center of New Hampshire (RECNH) Ranks Second in Nation for Percentage of Providers and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) Successfully Achieving Meaningful Use

The Regional Extension Center of New Hampshire (RECNH), part of a nationwide network of federally funded centers that support healthcare providers in the utilization of electronic health records (EHR), and their efforts to meet the national standards, announced recently that over 65% of the State's primary care providers have attested to Meaningful Use, as well as 85% of the CAHs in the state. These statistics rank RECNH second in the nation out of 62 Regional Extension Centers (REC).

The high levels of adoption seen in New Hampshire are a reflection of a national strategy to modernize the healthcare system in an effort to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. Last month the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced that it exceeded its goal for 50% of provider offices and 80% of eligible hospitals nationwide to implement EHRs by the end of 2013. Additionally, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently reported that 17.8% of primary care providers nationwide have successfully attested to Meaningful Use.

Launched by Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) in 2010 with the support of a $6.9 million federal award, RECNH plays a critical role in advancing the use of health information technology in the state, providing project management, technical assistance and strategic guidance to a wide range of healthcare organizations. RECNH works directly with Public and Critical Access Hospitals, community health centers, behavioral health centers, and independent providers. Through a coordinated funding effort, RECNH has been able to roll over a portion of its grant money directly to provider organizations, and thus far, has assisted in bringing over $60 million incentive dollars to providers and hospitals in the state.

"While many provider organizations have raised concerns regarding the feasibility and practicality of adopting EHRs, citing cost constraints and implementation difficulties, these achievements demonstrate significant progress. As a country, we've taken great strides in such a short period of time to truly transform our healthcare system," said Micky Tripathi, CEO and President, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative.

"These milestones are a testament to the work we're doing collectively to improve healthcare delivery across the U.S. and to encourage an overall healthier population. We're thrilled that our work in New Hampshire has helped the state become a leader in EHR adoption and Meaningful Use attestation, and we're looking forward to continuing on this path toward improved care coordination."

EHRs enable health care providers to have ready access to vital information about a patient's medical history in order to diagnose health problems earlier, provide proactive treatments, and improve outcomes of care. These technologies can help lower healthcare system costs by eliminating unnecessary or duplicative tests, reducing errors and improving clinical decision-making at the point of care. EHRs can also improve communication between health care providers, including referrals between primary care providers and specialists.

"I'm pleased to see such substantial growth in the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) in the State of NH", says Elizabeth Shields, State Health Information Technology Coordinator. "The rate of EHR adoption, and subsequent achievement of Meaningful Use, has significantly increased among our physician community in the last three years. Leveraging health information already stored in EHRs provides a significant opportunity for the success of the statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE) and other statewide public health reporting initiatives. HIE provides a safe and secure transmission for this information to be shared amongst providers of care, allowing them to have access to up to date and vital health information at the point of care, when it's needed most."

RECNH supports a variety of statewide initiatives, including collaboration with the NH Medicaid Health Information Technology program and the NH State Public Health reporting initiatives, while also playing an active role in the NH Health Information Organization (NHHIO), the organization responsible for managing Health Information Exchange in the state of NH. Through sustainable strategies, profound expertise, and hands-on tactical support, RECNH and MAeHC aim to bring together healthcare communities and improve healthcare delivery for both patients and providers.

About Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC)
The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative is a national leader in the facilitation and management of electronic health record deployment, health information exchange and quality measure reporting. MAeHC is an independent non-profit corporation with a charitable mission to improve the delivery of health care by promoting the use of health IT. Formed in 2004 as a collaboration of non-profit health care stakeholders to demonstrate the most effective ways to deploy EHRs and HIE to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and affordability of care in Massachusetts, MAeHC now works across the United States with a wide range of physician practices, hospitals, state governments, contracting networks, management services organizations, HIE organizations, technology vendors, and consulting firms. For more information, visit www.maehc.org.

About Regional Extension Center of New Hampshire (RECNH)
RECNH was designated by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) as one of 62 national Regional Extension Centers (RECs). The REC program was established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical (HITECH) Act to help health care providers transition to electronic health records and achieve meaningful use objectives in order to maximize the functionality and benefits of an EHR system. RECNH continues to offer technical support to healthcare providers throughout the state to advance the adoption of EHRs and offer guidance and information on best practices. For more information, visit www.recnh.org.