In February 2009, Congress and the President enacted a $789 billion dollar economic stimulus bill, formally known as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" (ARRA). Included in ARRA legislation is the "Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health" (HITECH) Act.

Among the many Healthcare related projects funded by the HITECH Act was the creation of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (REC). These centers will provide heavily subsidized support to physician practices and small rural hospitals in adopting electronic health record (EHR) systems and using their current systems to achieve Meaningful Use, obtain the financial incentives and improve patient care.

The REC work for the State of Nevada has been assigned to HealthInsight, a private, non–profit, community based organization working with providers to improve the value and quality of the healthcare systems in Nevada and Utah. HealthInsight is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Chartered Value Exchange (CVE) designee and the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO). HealthInsight also serves as the lead organization for the Utah Beacon Community.

As the Regional Extension Center, HealthInsight assists physicians in successfully adopting an EHR and achieving Meaningful Use of that EHR to qualify for Federal Incentive funding of as much as $44,000 per physician. For physicians not currently using an EHR, HealthInsight assists with the daunting selection and implementation process. For physicians already using an EHR HealthInsight provides Meaningful Use assessments, workflow analysis & redesign, and a variety of EHR adoption and support services to help achieve Meaningful Use and improve the quality and efficiency of care within a practice.

Teachers Health Trust encourages our network of physicians to contact the REC by completing the attached participation interest form to learn firsthand the benefit HealthInsight and the REC services can bring to a practice interested in providing efficient quality care to their patients. You may also complete the participation interest form online on HealthInsight's website.