Georgia Secures HIT Grant

U.S. Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) $3,171,328 to create a State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP) and complete initial planning activities related to promoting the adoption and utilization of electronic health records (EHR) among Medicaid providers.  The funding is made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Medicaid incentive program.

 

The SMHP will outline Georgia’s strategy for providing payment incentives to Medicaid providers for purchasing an EHR system and re-engineering their practices to maximize the use of health information technology.  The plan will also define the reimbursement methodology for Medicaid providers who adopt EHRs in accordance with the meaningful use criteria.  The plan will enable Georgia to achieve its overarching goal of ensuring every Medicaid provider has access to an electronic medical record system and the capacity to participate in an electronic health information exchange (HIE). 

 

Georgia is the first state in the region and the fourth in the nation to receive such an award from CMS. 

 

“DCH is ready to hit the ground running with the resources provided by CMS for the development of our state’s Medicaid Health Information Technology plan,” said Dr. Rhonda Medows, Commissioner, DCH.  “This plan will align with each of the state’s health information technology goals, including the development of a state health information exchange, the launch of Georgia Healthe Connect – a HIE that provides access to an EHR to Medicaid providers who desire software as a service, and the work of the Regional Extension Center.”

 

Georgia requested funds to:

• Plan the Medicaid incentive payment program as outlined in section 4201 of the 2009 ARRA and further described in the Letter to State Medicaid Directors dated September 1, 2009, including tracking meaningful use of certified EHR technology by Medicaid providers;
• Plan for the Department’s capability of providing management and oversight of the incentive program, including routine tracking of meaningful use attestations and reporting mechanisms;
• Plan initiatives that encourage the adoption of EHR technology certifiable in accordance with CMS criterion (to be determined) to promote health care quality and the exchange of health information among Medicaid providers and members;
• Plan that Georgia implements a program that is in support of the applicable laws and regulations governing HIE, while ensuring the privacy and security of the data provided by the data exchange partners; and
• Plan a comprehensive program that aligns the Medicaid incentive program with the existing state HIT initiatives and new activities funded by ARRA.

DCH will leverage existing relationships across the health care and HIT community to ensure that stakeholders are engaged in the development of HIT in Georgia. 

 

For more information about this and other Georgia HITT Initiatives, visit www.dch.georgia.gov/gahitt.