TMF Health Quality Institute to help Houston area Physicians Implement Health Information Technology
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CONTACT:
Emilie Fennell
(512) 334-1649
emilie.fennell@tmf.org
1-800-725-9216, Ext. 649
Austin, TX – September 23, 2010 – TMF® Health Quality Institute, a leading nonprofit health care consulting company, has announced it will partner with the Gulf Coast Regional Extension Center in Houston to provide electronic health record (EHR) consultation and technical assistance to approximately 1,000 physicians throughout the Gulf Coast region.
The partnership kicks off with the Texas Health IT Summit in Houston September 30 – October 2. Industry experts will offer sessions for health care professionals, government agency representatives and others interested in health information technology, EHR implementation, health information exchange, federal stimulus funding and more.
“TMF is excited about this partnership and the opportunity to help south Texas providers,” said Bob Ligon, director of Health IT Services at TMF. “Leveraging technology is a critical step in engaging patients and families in their health care and improving the quality of health care delivery.”
Sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the Gulf Coast Regional Extension Center will help providers implement EHR technology in the southern areas of Texas along the Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Valley, home to more than 44 percent of the state’s population. The center is one of four in Texas and 60 in the nation created through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Health Information Technology Extension program, which also provides for incentive payments to qualifying physician practices using EHR technology.
A chief purpose of the Regional Extension Centers is helping primary care providers become eligible for these Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive payments over the next two years through outreach, education and technical assistance. To qualify for the payments, providers must meet a set of criteria collectively termed “meaningful use”, which includes obtaining certain patient demographics, maintaining medication and diagnosis lists, prescribing medications electronically and working toward electronic communication with other providers.
More importantly, the Regional Extension Centers will help providers find and implement the best EHR system for their practice in order to provide more effective, efficient care.
For a full listing of Texas Health IT Summit sessions and registration information, visit www.TexasHealthITSummit.org. The summit is presented by the Gulf Coast Regional Extension Center, TMF Health Quality Institute and Texas Health Institute.
About TMF Health Quality Institute
TMF Health Quality Institute focuses on improving lives by improving the quality of health care through contracts with federal, state and local governments, as well as private organizations. For nearly 40 years, TMF has helped health care providers and practitioners in a variety of settings improve care for
their patients. This experience includes helping over 1,000 Texas physicians to adopt, implement and utilize EHR technology.