After years of promises and delays both bureaucratic and political, electronic prescribing of controlled substances is almost a reality. The Drug Enforcement Agency on Wednesday moved a step closer to eliminating a significant barrier to e-prescribing adoption by releasing for public inspection a 334-page interim final rule and request for comments.

To read more, click here.

A 5.0 hour CME-accredited workshop intended for physicians and other healthcare providers who want to learn more about the quality-HIT connection will be held on Friday, Oct. 21, from 9 am to 4 pm at the Oregon Medical Association Headquarters in Portland. Program topics include Health IT and practice workflow redesign as instruments of quality improvement; implementing quality management and reporting through electronic systems; and others.

An EHR “Petting Zoo,” offered by OCHIN/O-HITEC, Oregon’s Regional Extension Center, will also take place at the site that day starting at 8 am. At this event, attendees will have an opportunity to explore and compare O-HITEC’s qualified and certified EHRs. This is a great opportunity for physicians and other practice professionals who are still in the selection phase of implementing HIT to test out products and speak with vendors.
Registration is open to all, and is $169 for OMA members and their staff, and $203 for non-members. Complete course information, including online registration and series discount information, is available online at the OMA website at www.theoma.org/passport.

On Tuesday September 27, 2011, the Oregon Medical Association will begin a three-part workshop series called “Passport to Health IT”. The series is designed specifically for small and medium-sized clinics operating both with and without an EHR. The courses are intended to complement the HITECH Programs, language and organizations in Oregon. Registration information is available at the Oregon Medical Association’s website.

Beaverton, Ore. — August 29, 2011 — OCHIN, Inc., one of the nation’s largest non-profit health information and technology networks, recognized for its innovative use of Health IT to improve the integration and delivery of health care services for safety net clinics, mental health services, small practices, critical access and rural hospitals, has chosen EasyStreet® Online Services Inc. as its data center colocation partner. Within weeks, OCHIN will begin moving its computing infrastructure from its current location in Multnomah County’s data center into a secure cage in EasyStreet’s newly commissioned Data Center 2.

For more information, click here.

Published in the Annals of Family Medicine, Fierce/EMR Reports in July/August the study evaluated documentation of preventive services of 2100 Medicaid patients with diabetes at 50 Oregon based community health centers

Portland, Oregon – A groundbreaking study by the OCHIN Practice Based Research Network (“Safety Net West”), titled Electronic Health Records vs. Medicaid Claims: Completeness of Diabetes Preventive Care Data in Community Health Centers, concludes that networked EHRs provide new opportunities for obtaining more comprehensive data regarding health services received –
especially among populations with breaks in insurance. And that relying solely on Medicaid claims data is likely to substantially underestimate the quality of care.

Principal Investigators, Jennifer E. DeVoe, MD, DPhil, Executive Director of OCHIN’s Practice-based Research Network (“Safety Net West”) and a member of the Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University and Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research were joined by their community based research partners, Patti McIntire, BA: PPPM, Jon Puro, MPA-HA, Susan Chauvie, RN, MPA-HA with OCHIN, and Charles A. Gallia, PhD with the Division of Medical Assistance Programs, State of Oregon, Human Services Department in this collaborative work.

For more information, see the SNW Release.

Grants will support new health centers in 67 communities, serve additional 286,000 patients

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards of $28.8 million to 67 community health center programs across the country. These funds, made available by the Affordable Care Act, will help to establish new health service delivery sites to care for an additional 286,000 patients. Community health centers work to improve the health of the nation’s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by ensuring access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services.

For more information, click here.

Portland, Oregon – Today, OCHIN announced that Glenn Kulm is leading their Bend, Oregon operation as Vice President, Central Oregon Operations. Kulm is responsible for directing and supporting the Bend staff in sales, service and support of OCHIN products and services in addition to helping medical providers and clinics to achieve the federal EHR Meaningful Use requirements.

Mr. Kulm has more than 25 years experience in healthcare management, most recently as the Deputy Director of the Santa Cruz County (California) Health Services Agency for 11 years. In this position he was responsible for clinical, administrative and finance activities for a multifaceted $130M physical and behavioral health organization. He previously served for 7 years as the Assistant Director, then Director of Mental Health Services in that organization. Prior to his tenure with Santa Cruz, he was the Fiscal Operations Manager for the County of Riverside, California.  He joined OCHIN’s board of directors in 2003 and later served as a member of the executive committee of OCHIN. He recently resigned from the OCHIN Board of Directors to join the organization as an employee. Mr. Kulm will report to Abby Sears, OCHIN’s CEO.

Abby Sears, OCHIN’s CEO said, “Glenn’s years of healthcare experience and his clear understanding of our business model and vision is an asset to our organization.”  Mr. Kulm will be establishing residency in Bend ASAP and stated, “I am looking forward to becoming an integral part of the Bend community. I am so impressed with our Bend office staff and the great people that I’ve met so far.”

About OCHIN:

OCHIN is a national non-profit collaborative headquartered in Portland, Oregon that provides integrated HIT software products and services to community health clinics, mental health services and small practices serving the medically underserved. In 2010 OCHIN won a competitive federal grant to start Oregon’s Health Information Technology Extension Center (O-HITEC) a division of OCHIN that provides education, outreach, and assistance to facilitate successful implementation, and meaningful use of certified electronic health records. OCHIN/O-HITEC strives to transform healthcare, improve quality and deliver value through effective use of information technology. For more information please visit www.ochin.org and www.o-hitec.org

A partnership that will enhance Oregon EHR adoption in medical groups with 1 to 25 providers

Portland, Oregon  – Today Mid Rogue eHealth Services (MReHS) and OCHIN/O-HITEC announced a partnership that will advance Electronic Health Record adoption in the state of Oregon. MReHS was founded by physicians to promote healthcare quality, access and efficiency through the effective use of information technology. They currently provide a hosted implementation of Greenway’s PrimeSuite electronic health record (EHR).  O-HITEC chose Mid Rogue eHealth Services as a statewide partner to implement Greenways PrimeSuite EHR because of their solid reputation as a Greenway provider in Southern Oregon. The Greenway EHR has a strong customer satisfaction record, is nationally recognized as best in KLAS for groups of 6-25 providers and is a certified Meaningful Use EHR. “Through our partnership with O-HITEC, we’re prepared to implement PrimeSuite and utilize our expertise to benefit medical providers statewide”, said Kevin Whitley, Mid Rogue eHealth’s Business Manager.  OCHIN/O-HITEC is pleased to partner with Mid Rogue eHealth Services to implement Greenways PrimeSuite EHR as one of the preferred EHR products.

O-HITEC will work with MReHS practices to help them meet Meaningful Use (MU) as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). O-HITEC will use a menu of consulting services to assist MReHS providers in meeting the MU measures so they can qualify for EHR incentives of up to $64K per Medicaid-eligible provider or up to $44K per Medicare-eligible provider. Both organizations are committed to informing providers of the value of EHRs as a vehicle to reduce duplicity, improve patient care and reduce costs. “The federal incentives won’t be around for long, and we want every provider who plans to purchase an EHR to take advantage of the Federal incentives available to help defray those costs, “ said Clayton Gillett, O-HITEC’s Executive Director. “ We believe the MReHS’ expertise related to EHR implementation and usage will be a great help to providers considering the Greenway PrimeSuite,” said Gillett.

About MReHS

Mid Rogue eHealth Services was formed in 2007 by physicians with the purpose of providing clinics low-cost access to a fully integrated electronic medical record and practice management system.   MReHS staff has years of combined medical and technological experience and their local presence in the Rogue Valley allows them to provide high-touch, responsive service for provider offices.  This truly differentiates Mid Rogue eHealth Services from other vendors.  For more information please visit www.mrehs.com

Portland, Oregon – May 10, 2011 – OCHIN, (parent of O-HITEC) one of the nation’s most innovative non-profit providers of health information technology (HIT) and services for community based health clinics serving the medically underserved, has reached a landmark agreement with ORHQN to assist Oregon’s 25 Critical Access Hospitals in reaching the federal requirement to meaningfully use an electronic health record (EHR).

As Oregon’s federal grantee, OCHIN/O-HITEC is responsible for helping Oregon’s rural hospitals and primary care providers in small practices install certified EHR systems and meaningfully use them to improve quality and reduce the cost of patient services. The term of the ORHQN agreement extends for one year beginning April 1^st and all facilities will be able to access services without charge through March 2012.

As a result of the federal grant, O-HITEC is able to provide over a dozen free and low-cost services that include, Meaningful Use assessments, EHR vendor selection and installation assistance, on-site audits, education and training, and HIPAA privacy and security assistance. “O-HITEC is pleased to support ORHQN and we look forward to a partnership that will see all of their hospitals meet the federal requirements for Meaningful Use,” said Clayton Gillett, O-HITEC’s executive director.

ORHQN and OCHIN worked collaboratively to design a solution that would help both non-profits to assist network hospitals with tools and support services to improve patient care and reduce costs. ORQHN was able to apply their Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) funds as a match for a federal grant program that originated in the ARRA Stimulus Package.  OCHIN, O-HITEC’s parent organization, also contributed some funds to enable ORHQN to meet the matching requirement.  “Given our mission to continuously improve the quality of care available to rural communities throughout our State, we are pleased to partner with O-HITEC in providing such expertise and help for member hospitals to become meaningful users of Electronic Health Records, ” said William McMillan, President of ORHQN, CEO of Curry General Hospital. “Many are already on their way but almost all struggle with the capacity to bring this about on their own.  This grant should provide a technical assistance boost for all our rural hospitals in achieving this status,” said McMillan.

“Every state has a regionally-designated health information technology extension center, like O-HITEC and our creative collaboration and partnership with a hospital network is the first of its kind in the nation,“ said Gillett.

About ORHQN

The Oregon Rural Health Quality Network (ORHQN) was formed in 2005 by member hospitals (25 Critical Access Hospitals) in an effort to identify and share best practices in providing the highest quality of care possible in rural Oregon.  Current programs include a web-based performance-benchmarking program (where all of the network facilities can compare their clinical, staffing, financial, and patient satisfaction performance with that of their peers), a teamwork communication-training program – “TeamSTEPPs”, and an external provider peer review program. For more information please contact ebuckland@bendbroadband.com.

Portland, Oregon (April 26, 2011) – OCHIN, a national leader in health information technology products and services and parent of Oregon’s Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (O-HITEC), has entered into an agreement with Gateway EDI, a leading healthcare solutions provider of electronic data interchange services to help OCHIN/OHITEC members save time and money. “Gateway EDI offered us a better package for our members, saving them an average of 25 percent over other clearinghouses, “ said, Phil Skiba, vice president of business services. “Our goal is to help our providers achieve efficiencies and reduce costs and Gateway EDI provided us with a great clearinghouse solution”, said Skiba.