Strategic Health Consulting LLC Leads Rhode Island’s EHR Incentive Program Implementation

Westborough, MA   |   December 31, 2010

 

Healthcare IT Consulting Firm Leading “Extremely Successful” Effort; CMS Slated To Approve State Medicaid HIT Plan (SHMP) In January 2011

 

Contact:

Michael F. Noonan, Managing Principal, 508 479 3907, mnoonan@strategyrx.com

 

The State of Rhode Island Department of Human Services has been informed by the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that its State Medicaid HIT Plan (SMHP) is slated for conditional CMS approval by January 15, 2011.  Approval of the Rhode Island SMHP will set the stage for the release of Federal funding for the State’s Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. 

This initiative, which has been established under the provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or "HITECH Act", will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals and eligible hospitals as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate “meaningful use” of certified EHR technology.   The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will continue until 2021 and providers will be able to register until 2015.  Providers who meet certain conditions will be eligible for up to $63,750 in incentive payments over the life of the program and Rhode Island’s acute care hospitals will also be eligible for significant funding allocations. 

In June 2010, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services engaged Strategic Health Consulting LLC to provide project management services for the EHR Incentive Program planning phase, which includes stakeholder engagement, plan development, program analysis, vendor interface, and provider outreach components.  Since the start of the engagement, Strategic Health has also assumed primary responsibility for creation and editing of final plan documents and incentive payment budget development. 

Strategic Health developed the program delivery approach based on conditions “on the ground”, with a focus on the rapid, iterative development of draft plans, and tools to ensure the completeness/accuracy of plan revisions.  “The incentive program is still evolving at the federal level, even as execution is happening at the state level”, said Mike Noonan, Strategic Health Consulting LLC’s Managing Principal.  “By working aggressively in the early stages of the project to engage stakeholders and develop an initial plan draft, we were able to initiate the CMS review/feedback ‘loop’ much earlier than many other states, which has enabled us to significantly reduce risk.”  These efforts have led to a high level of client satisfaction and have positioned the project for successful completion by July 2011.

About Strategic Health Consulting LLC

Founded in 2008, Strategic Health Consulting LLC is a healthcare information technology consulting firm that partners with healthcare organizations, empowering them to deliver their HIT projects and focus on their core business and clinical competencies.  With an emphasis on emerging HIT, the firm provides strategic planning, process optimization, and program management services that address the unique business/technology integration challenges facing healthcare insurers, start-up firms, and clinical organizations.  Recent clients have included ClearCycle Corporation, Sun Life Financial, and the State of Rhode Island.