News Feature | February 24, 2015

Michigan Initiative Helps Nearly 3,800 Physicians Achieve MU

Julia Ernst

By Julia Ernst, contributing writer

Patients Like Doctors Who email

The Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption set out to help 3,724 eligible physicians achieve MU, a goal initiated in 2010 that has now been achieved.

A grant-funded initiative in Michigan to help nearly 3,800 physicians achieve MU of electronic health records (EHRs) has been met. In 2010, the Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption (M-CEITA) set out to help 3,724 eligible physicians in the state achieve MU. The program was initially funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and was led by the Altarum Institute, a non-profit health systems research and consulting organization.

The M-CEITA program aims to make the EHR adoption process seamless and is one of 62 centers in the United States that provides hands-on technical assistance to low-resource groups, such as primary care providers within urban, rural, and critical access settings, who may not possess the technical knowledge or available staff to support achievement of MU. In Michigan, over $80 million in incentive payments have been made to M-CEITA clients.

According to the news release, the M-CEITA program for one-on-one health information technical assistance has grown “well beyond” the original federally funded program. Late last year, M-CEITA was awarded additional funding by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) to support primary care providers and specialists within the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Such support includes assisting providers with later stages of MU through 2017.

Additionally, M-CEITA works with MDCH on two programs that are designed to leverage health information technology to improve care for hypertensive and diabetic patients. Other resources and funding allow M-CEITA to train and help providers in using technology and data to improve the quality of care for patients throughout the state, the news release notes.

According to Dan Armijo, vice president and director of Altarum Institute’s Health Innovation and Technical Assistance group, M-CEITA is the fifth-largest center of its kind in the country.

SOURCE: Altarum Institute