Evaluations of HITECH Programs
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) conducts a variety of research and evaluation projects to assess the implementation of ONC programs and the overall progress of the Nation in transforming health care through the meaningful use of health IT.
This webpage is a repository of program evaluation reports, case studies, peer reviewed publications, and other products created by ONC and its contractors for evaluating the adoption of health IT – such as electronic health records - and the implementation of ONC’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act programs.
The findings and conclusions in the publications on this webpage are those of the each report’s authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ONC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Contents
I. Global Evaluation of HITECH Act Implementation
The following reports and publication support the assessment of the impact of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act programs on the adoption and meaningful use of
EHRs, as well as the resulting changes in health care quality and cost. This evaluation builds on the data collected from the other HITECH program evaluations and also entails additional data collection efforts to examine the
interaction of programs created under HITECH in supporting the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.
A. Evaluation Reports:
B. Related Publications:
| Publication Title | Citation |
|---|---|
| Obtaining Providers Buy-In and Establishing Effective Means of Information Exchange Will Be Critical to HITECH’s Success. | Marsha R. Gold, Catherine G. McLaughlin, Kelly J Devers, Robert A. Berenson, Randall R. Bovbjerg. “Obtaining Providers’ Buy-In and Establishing Effective Means of Information Exchange Will Be Critical to HITECH’s Success.” Health Affairs. (March 2012). |
| The Benefits of Health Information Technology: A Review of the Recent Literature Shows Positive Results. | Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin , Matthew Burke, Michael Hoaglin, David Blumenthal. “The Benefits of Health Information Technology: A Review of the Recent Literature Shows Positive Results.” Health Affairs. (March 2011). |
II. Individual HITECH Program Evaluations
A. The Beacon Communities Program
The purpose of the Beacon evaluation is to assess the success of the 17 Beacon Communities in promoting meaningful use of EHRs, highlight lessons learned, and measure improvements in efficiency, patient safety, and population health. The national program evaluation is being conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.
| Publication Title | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beacon Community and EHR Vendor Collaboration: A Catalyst for Interoperability and Exchange | June 2012 | Briefing |
| The Beacon Community Program: Three Pillars of Pursuit | June 2012 | Policy Brief |
| Evaluation design and technical assistance opportunities: early findings from the Beacon Community Program evaluation teams. | January 2012 | Issue Brief |
B. Health IT Workforce Development Program
The Workforce evaluation seeks to assess the activities of the Community College Consortia, University-Based Training Program, Curriculum Development Centers, and the Competency Examination Program in training and graduating professionals with skills in 12 workforce roles.
Original data following the progress of the individual Community College Consortia Program grantees and states can be accessed through the Health IT Workforce Training Dashboard and through the Health IT Dashboard’s Datasets and Documentation webpage.
| Publication Title | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Findings from Site Visits | January 2013 | Site Visit |
| Implementation of ONCs Workforce Development Program | August 2012 | Annual Report |
| Overview of ONCs Workforce Development Program | June 2011 | Annual Report |
C. State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement (HIE) Program
The State HIE program evaluation seeks to characterize state and state designated entity (SDE) efforts taken to expand and evolve HIE, and to identify and perpetuate success stories and lessons learned through the same programs.
Individual state data on EHR adoption and HIE trends can be accessed through the Health IT Adoption and Use Dashboard and through the Health IT Dashboard’s Datasets and Documentation webpage.
| Publication Title | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Health Information Exchange (HIE) in Maine | November 2012 | Case Study |
| Experiences from Nebraska in Enabling Health Information Exchange (HIE) | November 2012 | Case Study |
| Experiences from Texas in Enabling Health Information Exchange (HIE) | November 2012 | Case Study |
| Experiences from Washington State in Enabling Health Information Exchange (HIE) | November 2012 | Case Study |
| Experiences from Wisconsin in Enabling Health Information Exchange | November 2012 | Case Study |
| Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration (SERCH) Final Report | July 2012 | Case Study |
| Early Findings from a Review of Twenty-Seven States | January 2012 | Evaluation Report |
| The Evolution of the State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program: State Plans to Enable Robust Health Information Exchange | August 2011 | Annual Report |
D. Health IT Regional Extension centers Program
The Regional Extension Center (REC) evaluation serves to measure the overall penetration of the RECs and their resulting success in supporting the diffusion and meaningful use of EHRs and health IT across the United States.
The Heath IT Dashboard contains up-to-date data on the REC Program milestones for each state, as well as contact information for each REC. The data can be found at the Regional Extension Center Dashboard
| Publication Title | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GAHITREC: Helping eligible providers reach Meaningful Use | June 2012 | Case Study |
E. Strategic Health Information Technology Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program
The Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) evaluation assesses how the grantees are using innovative methods to design usable and functional tools, products, or methods that align with SHARP areas of inquiry, as well as the translational process for the dissemination of these innovations.
| Publication Title | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vision for the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Programs | March 2012 | Evaluation Report |
III. Congressional Reports and Disparities Case Studies
This collection of reports includes reports to Congress on health IT adoption progress and incentives as well as case studies highlighting community-based programs using health IT to address the needs of populations that experience disparities in access, quality of care, and outcomes.
IV. ONC Data Briefs
ONC has developed numerous data briefs on key statistics that highlight EHR adoption and the progress to date of HITECH Programs.
| Publication Title | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Physician Adoption of Electronic Health Record Technology to Meet Meaningful Use Objectives: 2009-2012 | This brief describes changes in e-prescribing at the national and state level between December 2008 and June 2012. It examines changes in rates of physician e-prescribing, pharmacy capability to accept e-prescriptions, and the volume of prescriptions transmitted electronically. | November 2012 |
| Vendors of Certified EHR Technology | This brief describes trends in Meaningful Use attestations through October 31, 2012. | October 2012 |
| Progress Towards Meaningful Use Among Critical Access and Other Small Rural Hospitals Working with Regional Extension Centers | This brief describes location and progress to Meaningful Use of critical access and other small rural hospitals enrolled with a REC. Data are reported at the state level. | November 2012 |
| State Variation in E-Prescribing Trends in the United States | This brief describes changes in e-prescribing at the national and state level between December 2008 and June 2012. It examines changes in rates of physician e-prescribing, pharmacy capability to accept e-prescriptions, and the volume of prescriptions transmitted electronically. | November 2012 |
| ONCs Community College Program Trains Over 12,000 Health IT Professionals | This brief describes trends in program attainment and student demographics for the Community College Consortia to Educate Health IT Professionals Program ("Community College Consortia"), a part of ONC's Health IT Workforce Development Program. | May 2012 |
| HITECH and Health IT Jobs: Evidence from Online Job Postings | This brief examines trends in health IT jobs using online job postings as a proxy for labor demand since the passage of HITECH in 2009 though early 2012. | May 2012 |
| Electronic Health Record Systems and Intent to Attest to Meaningful use among Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals in the United States | This brief describes trends in adoption of EHR systems among non-federal acute care hospitals from 2008 to 2011, including tracking the intent of hospitals to attest to Meaningful Use of EHRs and receive payments through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) EHR Incentive Programs. | February 2012 |