CA healthcare providers reach out for EHR help

More than 7,700 healthcare providers have enrolled in the California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization (CalHIPSO), the largest health IT regional extension center (REC) in the nation. This is significantly more than the 6,200 providers who were expected to participate when CalHIPSO started two years ago with $33.2 million in federal grants. The target population for RECs includes rural and safety net providers, as well as primary care doctors in practices of 10 or fewer physicians. Currently, CalHIPSO's membership is divided about evenly among small private practices, community health centers, and public hospitals and rural providers, said CalHIPSO CEO Speranza Avram in an interview with InformationWeek Healthcare.