COMMUNITY > Workforce Disparities New EHR Funding Support for Primary Care Providers Will Benefit Underserved Communities
The California Health Information Partnership Services Organization (CalHIPSO), one of the new California organizations called Regional Extension Centers (RECs) formed to assist providers in qualifying for federal funding to support the purchase and use of electronic health records (EHRs) and to achieve “meaningful use,” will initially focus on “priority primary care providers,” said Speranza Avram, MPA, executive director. These providers include MDs, DOs, physician assistants and nurse practitioners at small private physician practices, community health centers, primary care and rural health clinics, public hospitals, and ambulatory care clinics connected to critical access and rural hospitals. Practices that purchase and implement EHRs to meet the federal “meaningful use” criteria can qualify for incentive payments to help defray the costs. By 2015, all providers receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds are required to have implemented EHRs and be meeting the meaningful use standard. The 2009 federal stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which establishes programs under Medicare and Medicaid to provide incentive payments for using EHRs. The California Medical Association, California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and California Primary Care Association formed CalHIPSO to serve as a Regional Extension Center (REC) to serve all of California except Los Angeles and Orange County. The HITECH Act provides for the establishment of RECs to provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to help primary care providers in their geographic service areas to select, successfully implement, and meaningfully use certified EHR technology. For more information, visit the CalHIPSO Web site.
MLC Education: Providing Culturally Proficient Care to Transgender Men and Women
When considering the need for cultural proficiency in health care, the transgender community often is overlooked. The term transgender describes people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is one’s internal understanding of one’s own gender. For many transgender people, their gender identity doesn’t match their birth-assigned gender. Because of biases against and lack of understanding of transgender men and women, they find that adequate health care often is unavailable or denied them, said Jamison Green, Primary Care Protocols Manager at the University of California, San Francisco Center of Excellence for Transgender Health.
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Some insurance companies refuse to provide any coverage at all to transgender people, for example, and others refuse to cover surgery and hormone therapy required for transition, the process some transgender people undergo to align their outward gender expression with their gender identity. Mr. Green explained that physicians need to know how to treat transgender patients with respect; understand their health concerns, which may or may not be related to their transgender status; and learn how to provide competent medical care to this population. Many transgender people avoid seeking health care out of a fear of discrimination or rejection, yet access to appropriate health care is essential, particularly for a population that research shows is at high risk for alcohol and drug dependency, depression, and suicidal feelings, among other health threats. For more information, visit the Center’s Web site at www.transhealth. ucsf.edu.
MLC Resources Help Improve Access to Language Services and Culturally Proficient Care
A major part of the MLC’s work since its founding 8-1/2 years ago has been the development and dissemination o resources addressing language access, cultural proficiency, workforce diversity in health care, and health disparities. Most of these resources are available on the MLC Web site, www.MedicalLeadership.org, which also hosts the searchable Language Access Database offering Californiacounty-specific resources. Deputy Executive Vice President Shelly Rodrigues, CAE, CCMEP of the California Academy of Family Physicians, the lead administrative organization for the MLC, provided an overview. Print materials on the site include toolkits to assist physician offices in providing language services and culturally proficient care; a coding and billing tip sheet; information on assessing staff members’ bilingual capabilities; and many other topics. Videos include education about reasons for providing, and how to provide, language services and culturally proficient care; an overview of the MLC member organizations’ work on these issues; and ways medical assistants can assist their practices in providing culturally proficient care. Resources provided in-person include the Decision Medicine program, designed to encourage diverse students to choose careers in health care; grant writing workshops; and a medical assistants’ training.
Looking forward
The California Endowment has undertaken an ambitious 10-year initiative to address health care, social services, educational and environmental issues in 14 specific California communities. Future MLC work will overlap with that initiative. The next MLC meeting will be held in Los Angeles on November 17, 2010.
FALL 2010