Local Doctor Champions Adoption of Electronic Health Records in West Texas

EL PASO, TEXAS – Walker Jackson, M.D., of Physician Healthcare Associates of El Paso (PHA), has been recognized as a Physician Champion by the West Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (WTxHITREC) for his leadership in the national transition toward electronic health records (EHR). The WTxHITREC is a program of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health.

PHA was formed by a small group of physicians in 1993 to provide better service to their patients. The physicians and staff at PHA provide exemplary service to patients in several areas including family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology.

The WTxHITREC will provide PHA assistance in preparing the clinic in its drive towards meaningful use and assistance with EHR incentive attestation, Jackson said.

"The benefits of EHR adoption for medical providers include improving patient outcomes through the use of disease and health maintenance protocols, improved efficiency in refilling medications through e-Prescribing trending and graphing of lab results, and the capability of sharing electronic data with referring physicians,” Jackson said. “As for patients, EHRs provide benefits such as availability for preventive care through health maintenance reminders and electronic access to their health information.”

Under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (stimulus bill), all Americans must have access to electronic health records, or EHRs, by 2014. Providers and consumers can feel confident that any changes in the health care reform bill will not affect the progress on the adoption and “meaningful use” of EHRs. Doctors not using EHRs will lose a percentage of their Medicare reimbursement fees starting in 2015.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology established the WTxHITREC as a Regional Extension Center to help health care providers in West Texas adopt and use EHRs in their practices.

Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments are available to eligible professionals and hospitals when they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of a certified electronic health record. Payments, made through federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, mean physicians and other eligible professionals can qualify for as much as $44,000 through Medicare or $63,750 through Medicaid.

The National Vision for Regional Extension Centers was established by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The office has established a nationwide network of 62 extension centers, each serving a defined geographic area, with the goal of helping 100,000 priority primary care providers adopt and successfully implement health information technology. Extension centers provide outreach, education and technical assistance to clinicians who serve the medically underserved, practice in settings of 10 providers or less or are affiliated with Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals or Rural Hospitals.

With a focus on primary care providers and rural and critical access hospitals, the WTxHITREC has served many health care professionals throughout the 108 western counties of Texas.

For more information on eligibility for EHR incentive payments and services provided by the WTxHITREC, call (806) 743-7960, email info@wtxhitrec.org or visit www.wtxhitrec.org.

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