LOS ANGELES – HITEC-LA, a project of L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, has been awarded a second year contract from the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) to further implement certified electronic health records (EHRs). It was selected for its track record of effectively working in partnership with clinics on meaningful use Stage 1 and reputation for improving quality through technology.
HITEC-LA will receive more than $1 million over the course of three years. It will help the health centers reach meaningful use Stage 2 and achieve Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition, including education and on-site technical assistance.
During the first year of the contract, HITEC-LA surpassed its program goals and exceeded expectations. As of the end of February:
- 27 health centers with 577 providers serving 712,000 CCALAC patients received onsite consulting
- 154 providers in health centers attested to meaningful use stage 1 and were approved for federal incentive payments
- 11 health centers serving 315,000 CCALAC patients received recognition as medical homes
“The success that we have seen through year one is exciting, and we look forward to helping these clinics achieve the next step,” says Howard A. Kahn, L.A. Care Chief Executive Officer. “Physicians who care for the county’s low-income communities have limited resources to implement new technologies. This grant allows L.A. Care to help health centers leverage technology to better care for those who need and deserve it the most.”
In December 2012, the United States Health Resources and Services Administration awarded CCALAC the L.A. Regional Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) grant for $1.8 million over three years to support the adoption and implementation of certified EHR technology, meaningful use Stage 2 compliance, and technology-enabled quality improvement initiatives in health centers.
The L.A. Regional HCCN grant supports 27 collaborating health centers with 183 locations throughout the county, employing over 730 health care providers and serving almost 700,000 patients each year.
“We are thrilled to work with HITEC-LA once again after such success in our initial year of the HCCN effort,” says Louise McCarthy, President and CEO of CCALAC and member of the L.A. Care Board of Governors. “We look forward to continuing this work together demonstrating the value of health centers as providers of high quality care in L.A. County.”
Additional information is available at www.hitecla.org/ccalac-hccn
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