DC Regional Extension Center - Project Title: District of Columbia Regional Extension Center
(DC REC)
Service Area: District of Columbia (USPS zip codes 20001-20012; 20015-20020; 20024;
20032; 20036-37. This is all of the District, excluding zip codes exclusive to federal land, federal departments, post office boxes, or universities.)
Applicant Name: District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA)
Address: 1411 K Street NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Contact Name: Sharon A. Baskerville, Chief Executive Officer
Contact Phone Numbers: (202) 638-0252 (voice) (202) 638-4557 (fax)
E-Mail Address: sbaskerville@dcpca.org Website Address: www.dcpca.org
The District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA), drawing on our unique experience providing technical assistance and quality improvement support to primary care providers in Washington, DC; our robust relationships with local government agencies, hospital systems, payer organizations, and health professional training institutions; and our track record in the strategic development of health information technologies for providers within the District???s primary care safety net, proposes to develop the DC Regional Extension Center (DC REC) serving primary care providers within the nation???s capital. Through the DC REC, DCPCA will provide outreach and education, expert knowledge, technical assistance, and other supportive services required to support a minimum of 750 priority primary care providers, defined as providers operating in settings that predominately serve the uninsured, underinsured, and medically underserved, and a total of 1,000 primary care providers in implementing and achieving meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) technology in their practices.
EHR adoption in the District of Columbia is not widespread amongst priority primary care providers, though there is a mix of non-automated providers and automated providers, utilizing different software systems, even within DCPCA???s own membership network of safety net community health centers. Thanks in part to support received by DCPCA from the District government in 2006, six community health center provider systems are currently utilizing EHR technology, implemented through a process that was led by DCCPA. DCPCA is aligning our efforts to promote health information technology (HIT) in Washington, DC with established health professional training programs and institutes of higher education in the region. DCPCA also serves as the lead agency for the organization and development of the District of Columbia Regional Health Information Organization (DC RHIO), a collaborative health information exchange (HIE) system that improves care quality and cost-effectiveness through access to shared patient information. DCPCA???s critical role in the ongoing development of the DC RHIO will support HIE integration of primary care providers newly adopting certified EHR technology with the support of the DC REC, as well as those providers making continual progress towards meaningful use. The DC REC will provide the full scope of services outlined in the cooperative agreement to primary care providers in the District, and our strategy will benefit from DCPCA???s long history and experience with priority providers ??? with an understanding of their limited resources, and the critical importance of demonstrating value to the leadership of each health care practice when encouraging any new programs or major technology initiatives.
