Health IT educators must also make the grade

In rolling out its plan to help healthcare providers go digital, the federal government wants to make sure everyone has skin in the game. That's why there are penalties for those who decline the incentives offered under the plan to adopt health IT. It turns out the principle will also extend to the regional extension centers called for in the $20 billion-plus project, a network of education and training organizations designed to help providers through the growing pains of health IT adoption. If the centers don't deliver on training goals they agree to meet for physicians and practices, the organization may not continue to receive funds, said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, senior advisor at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and its point man on the extension center project.