Dr. Ron Ritchey (center), corporate medical director for health IT; (left) Chris Williams, EHR consultant; and Laurie Robinson, RN, quality improvement director of eQHealth.

Mississippi Regional Extension Center Exceeds National Goals

When eQHealth was given the grant-required mandate to sign up 1,000 primary care providers in Mississippi by 2013 and to help them incorporate electronic health records (EHRs) into their medical practices, it seemed a tall order to fill.

Yet in an August meeting with representatives of Regional Extension Centers (RECs) from across the country, leaders of Louisiana-based eQHealth, which operates the Mississippi REC, proudly announced that more than 450 primary care providers had signed on for EHR consulting services in the first six months of the program.

The higher-than-expected number of signees propelled the Mississippi REC into the limelight by exceeding already lofty national goals, which the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) based on the state’s primary care physician population. 

“Our plan obligates us to have reached agreements with 298 providers by the end of (September),” said Randy Bordelon, project manager for the Mississippi REC. “Already, we’ve greatly exceeded this goal, and I’m confident that we’ll soon be helping 1,000 providers in Mississippi adopt this technology into their practices.”

According to weekly updates submitted to ONC, eQHealth’s REC signed up 510 primary care providers as of Oct 4.

eQHealth had established a successful EHR consulting operation in Louisiana before garnering the REC award from ONC. Bordelon said the framework and business plan for the consulting work served as the basis for the REC’s infrastructure.

“Because we already had a small staff, and had established strong relationships with physicians and medical practices in Louisiana, we’ve had a smooth transition into Mississippi,” he said.

eQHealth’s success in Mississippi is in stark contrast to most RECs, which have reported difficulty hiring qualified staff. According to a survey conducted by the eHealth Initiative, many RECs remain in the planning stage because of the personnel obstacle, slowing progress in RECs securing signed commitments from primary care providers. During the September meeting, REC officials cited workforce, training, and educational materials among critical concerns.

The Mississippi REC has had a markedly different experience, Bordelon noted.

“We quickly hired technical consultants who have the skills, background and experience to quickly begin working with providers,” he said. “Additionally, we’d already developed most of our marketing and educational materials, and we had well-established relationships with key organizations in Mississippi, including the Primary Care Association and the Mississippi Division of Medicaid.”

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