Health Information Technology

KFMC’s Health Information Technology (IT) consultants work directly with clinicians and their staff to optimize the use of electronic health information technologies to effectively enable them to provide quality patient care. Electronic health records (EHRs) play a critical role in the current healthcare environment, improving outcomes for patients’ health as well as public health. EHR data make it possible to measure the quality of care being provided, an essential piece of the puzzle in the latest payment models introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and replicated by other payers. Staying up-to-date with the latest certification standards, specifications, regulations, quality payment programs, incentive programs, and protecting the security and integrity of protected health information is challenging. KFMC’s Health IT consultants will bring this knowledge to your practice, providing customized assistance to meet your health IT needs.

Services. Health IT services are offered on a fee-for-service basis. KFMC’s Health IT consultants are available to assist with:

• • Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) Vendor Selection and Implementation
  • Health IT Support
  • Information Systems Security Management
    • Electronic Protected Health Information Security Risk Assessment and Analysis
    • HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance
    • Security Risk Mitigation Action Plan Development and Management
    • Information Systems Security Policies and Procedures – Review, Development, and Updating
  • Process Analysis and Redesign
  • Telehealth Support
  • Health information Exchange (HIE) Optimization

History. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 included financial incentives for healthcare providers that attained Meaningful Use (MU) with their Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. As part of the ARRA, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act authorized the formation of HIT Regional Extension Centers (RECs) designed to support physician practices in adopting EHR systems and using their current systems to achieve Meaningful Use.

KFMC was the federally designated REC for Kansas from February 8, 2010, until April 6, 2016. During this time, KFMC’s Health IT consultants helped over 1,600 Kansas providers select, implement, and meaningfully use Health Information Technology. Additionally, through partnership with the Kansas Hospital Education and Research Foundation (now Healthworks), KFMC provided assistance to 95 Kansas critical access and rural hospitals. KFMC also worked with the federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) throughout our state. The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (now Community Care Network of Kansas) partnered to assist 15 of the 16 FQHCs in Kansas and 91 RHCs.

KFMC is proud of the progress Kansas has made toward the interoperability of electronic health information and the possibilities for quality improvement this transformation provides and of the role KFMC played in furthering the US Department of Health and Human Services’ triple aim of improving health care quality, improving population health, and reducing unnecessary health care costs.