I’ve been really interested in the Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and been interested to find out how they’re going to work. So, I’ve started a resource on the EMR and EHR wiki to list the various RECs and over time to populate the list with links to the REC websites. Since it’s a wiki please feel free to login and add whatever information you know or leave a comment with the information.
I also found these links to information about the RECs in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana and Oklahoma and New Jersey.
Please let us all know any other information you have or find about RECs and their help in EMR implementation.
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I am working with one of the largest REC in the nation and it’s amazing how dedicated REC staff are. I think at the highest level, all the RECs are working together and sharing what they do so that the RECs can leverage each other. There are 4 main goales/challenges RECs face. First three are the milestones (sign-up, ehr adoption, meaingful use) to get their payments. The last is being sustainable. First one is the easiest for them, but the rest are very challenging. This is a brand new frontier for the RECs and should be exciting to see how the program unfolds.
David,
Thanks for your comments. My first question is whether you think that this “sharing” will end up creating a kind of group think which could be good or bad depending on who the dominate voices are in the group think.
The second one is will they lose focus since they have those major milestones. Basically, will they become so focused on numbers that they lose track of what they’re trying to accomplish?
John, as usual, your comments get right to it.
It’s just my opinion but the “sharing” amongst the RECs is a necessary thing right now to try get the best options included in the REC program as quickly as possible. However, in the long run, I wouldn’t mind some independence amongst the RECs. Good example is the list of EHRs they need to produce as part of the preferred vendor list. If all the RECs work together, the list would be limited to a small number. If each REC works independently, the total # of EHR vendors will be much greater. I think variety is good because EHR vendors have strengths that are not only features based but where they are located. Which means, preferred list won’t be made up of just the big boys who have national reach.
Your second comment worries me the most. I have heard “just sign them up” and we’ll worry about 2nd and 3rd milestones later. Well, the 2nd milestone (EHR live) is much harder than the first and the 3rd is that much harder compared to the 2nd.
For those interested in finding the REC in their area, a searchable nationwide directory of REC’s is available here: http://www.emrapproved.com/wizard/directory_list/show/regional_extensions_centers_for_ehr