Miami’s South Florida Regional Extension Center (REC), first announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in February of this year to promote and facilitate physician and health care provider adoption of electronic health records (EHR), has expanded its services into an additional five Florida counties.
Funded through the Office of National Coordinator of Health Information Technology and coordinated by a collaboration of health organizations, the nonprofit South Florida REC has added the counties of Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Indian River and St. Lucie to the original counties of Miami Dade, Broward and Monroe. The South Florida REC is now serving health care providers from Key West to Ft. Pierce.
More than 450 providers have already signed up for the program, which offers physicians technical assistance to adopt electronic health records, including assessment, qualified hardware and software vendors, cost discounts, training, support, maintenance and comprehensive assistance in achieving federally-mandated meaningful use. The South Florida REC hopes to sign up 2,500 providers throughout the eight counties. Once a provider has a system in place and can demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records, financial incentives are available of up to $63,750.
The South Florida REC’s priority physicians will receive services free of charge and include family doctors, pediatricians, OB/GYNs and those caring for underserved and minority communities. All others receive technical services at discounted rates. Membership is free to all priority primary care physicians for two years. The technical coordinator for the program is Miami-based Health Choice Network.
