OKHITEC to Help Health Care Providers Use Electronic Health Records
Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality Forms New Division to Address Changing Market Needs.
(May 19, 2010) Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) announces it recently established a new division, OKHITEC, to address the needs of the evolving market for health information technology (HIT). Dan Golder, DDS, MBA joined OFMQ as chief information officer to lead the organization’s HIT initiatives. OKHITEC offers technical assistance and expert guidance for providers working to achieve meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) and to exchange health information with other providers and agencies.
“This is truly an exciting time to be in health care,” Golder said. “Information technology is changing and improving the way we care for our patients and communicate across settings of care. We think it’s a crossroads for Oklahoma, connecting health care with the promise of information technology, and OKHITEC is here to help providers navigate the health IT highway.”
Golder’s background blends clinical practice and patient care, hospital administration, business development and operations. He has created start-up technology ventures in health care informatics and e-Commerce, with a focus on leveraging emerging technologies to benefit health practitioners. He is an active promoter of the use of EHR to improve patient care and health care quality
OKHITEC will provide boots on the ground support for health care providers implementing EHR. Consultative services include practice and workflow redesign, certified EHR implementation and project management, computer hardware specification review, privacy and security best practices solutions, online help desk support for real-time e-learning and troubleshooting.
“We are also working collaboratively with many groups and organizations to transform the health IT infrastructure in Oklahoma,” Golder said. “Our focus initiatives include partnerships with professional organizations to maximize opportunities for healthcare providers as well as local colleges and universities to develop programs to train a new generation of health IT professionals. We are actively participating in Oklahoma’s Health Information Exchange to facilitate information sharing.
OFMQ has added 14 health information technology staff as part of OKHITEC, including practice advisors who will work hands-on in physician practices and hospitals throughout the state.
In February, OFMQ was awarded a Regional Extension Center (REC) contract through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). This award infused over $5 million to Oklahoma to assist health care providers with EHR use. ONC is the principal Federal entity coordinating nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information. Funding for the REC program and other HIT programs totaling about $20 billion was authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Click to read more on OKHITEC.