New $19.5 Million Grant Expands Health IT in Underserved Communities

6/18/2010 12:00:00 AM

For Immediate Release
June 17, 2010
Media Contact: Cherie Richardson, 404-752-1917, crichardson@msm.edu

New $19.5 Million Grant Expands Health IT in Underserved Communities

ATLANTA (July 15, 2010) – Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) received a $19.5 million grant to aid providers with the adoption, implementation and meaningful use of Electronic Health Record systems. The funding is also intended to help build Georgia’s Health Information Technology workforce.

The U.S. Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 established a health information technology (HIT) extension program, which consists of regional extension centers and a national health information technology research center (HITRC). The HITECH program named MSM as one of approximately 60 regional extension centers across the U.S. These centers will provide support for more than 100,000 priority primary care providers, implement electronic health records (EHR) systems and train health information technology workers in underserved areas.

Under the grant, the National Center for Primary Care (NCPC) of MSM will oversee the Georgia HIT Extension Center (GA-HITREC), which will consist of 18 adoption centers that overlay the state’s 18 public health districts. Dominic H. Mack, M.D., M.B.A., deputy director for NCPC, will manage the project at MSM. GA-HITREC will help health care providers become meaningful users of EHR by providing technical assistance and implementing best practices.

GA-HITREC will assemble outreach, education and technical teams to attain the program's objectives through collaboration with the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the community-oriented, statewide health information exchange.

MSM will help providers select, install and implement an EHR system. "We’ll offer training and other support to ensure that the EHR system has the functionality the providers need and is used in a meaningful way."

Once providers become meaningful users of EHR, they’ll be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid funding, which offsets the costs of EHR hardware and software. "The federal initiatives help providers in two ways: the extension center program funds the technical support needed for the selection and implementation of EHR, while the CMS (Centers for Medicaid and Medicine Services) incentives assists the provider with purchasing the software and hardware.”

Mack noted that MSM was selected as the sole recipient in Georgia because of its reputation for successful outreach programs for the underserved. "I believe we were selected because of our established partnerships throughout the state, tradition of serving underserved populations and commitment to helping those in need,” he said. “This will help lower, and hopefully eliminate, the technology, health care and health disparity gaps in the community."

GA-HITREC’s goal is to develop a national reputation for excellence. “Our intent is to provide quality services to our customers and build a national reputation as a reliable HIT resource for providers,” Mack added. “In four to five years, I expect that when physicians need services for HIT, they’ll turn to us."

About Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) recruits and trains minority and other students as physicians, biomedical scientists and public health professionals committed to improving the health and well-being of communities. MSM is a member of the largest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the world — the Atlanta University Center (AUC). For more information about Morehouse School of Medicine, visit us online at www.msm.edu.

MSM in the News 2010