ONC envisions rural HIT 'communities of practice'

Rural healthcare providers should be an early focus for new health IT extension centers, and future "beacon communities" will be a conduit for getting those providers better access to broadband connections, the national health information technology coordinator told attendees at a recent meeting.

"We're hoping there will be a rural community of practice formed as part of (the health IT extension center) process," he said April 22 at a rural health IT conference sponsored by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) is also already working with the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce to improve that access to broadband technology, especially through beacon communities, he said. ONC has awarded $643 million in grants for 60 health IT extension centers across the nation. They will provide hands-on support in the areas where providers practice to accelerate the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs).