GW Hospital Hosts Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, at Press Conference on Meaningful Use and Electronic Health Record Incentives for Healthcare Providers

(January 10) Washington, DC — January 2011 marks the first time in our nation’s history that hospitals and eligible healthcare providers can register their intent to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic health records (EHRs) and qualify for incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Under both Medicare and Medicaid, eligible hospitals may receive millions of dollars for implementing meaningful use of certified EHR technology.  Individual practitioners who qualify may receive up to $44,000 for Medicare or $63,750 from Medicaid.

WHAT: The George Washington University Hospital is featuring federal and regional health IT leaders to discuss how EHRs today can improve patient care, as well as provide information on federal stimulus funds available to support adoption of health information technology.
WHEN: Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 11 a.m.
WHERE: The George Washington University Hospital Auditorium 900 23rd Street, NW, Washington

Presenters (Followed by question and answer period)

• David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
• Steve Lieber, president and CEO,  Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• Sharon Canner, Senior Director of Advocacy Programs, College of Healthcare Information Management
  

Executives (CHIME)

• ONC Grantees: James Focht, CIO, DC Department of Health Care Finance (ONC Health Information Exchange) and Donna Ramos-Johnson, DC Primary Care Association (ONC Regional Extension Center)
• Hospital and Physician Implementation:

• The George Washington University Hospital: CEO Trent Crable, MBA, CPA, CHE and CIO Gretchen Tegethoff, MSIST, CPHIMS
• The George Washington Medical Faculty Associates: CEO Stephen Badger
• Inova Health System: Senior Vice President and CIO Geoff Brown
• MedStar Health: Senior Vice President and CIO Catherine Szenczy

**Members of the media who would like to participate in the press conference are asked to RSVP to Heather Oldham at heather.oldham@gwu-hospital.com by Wednesday January 12th at noon.**