The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, a social science research organization was awarded a contract for $561,632 on April 26, 2010. NORC will collect, analyze, and then submit the data to HHS so that the agency will be able to draft a Report to Congress. The report is mandated by HITECH and must be submitted by June 2010.
The legislation requires the Secretary of HHS to submit a report on the findings and conclusions to determine if payments are available to healthcare providers who are not receiving incentives or only minimal incentives under HITECH. After the information is received from NORC, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will draft a report to be reviewed at HHS and then the report will be submitted to Congress.
The report will include:
• The adoption rates for certified EHR technology by providers
• The clinical utility of the technology by healthcare providers
• Whether healthcare providers really benefit from the use of the technology
• Information on healthcare providers that might otherwise receive an incentive payment or other funding under HITECH, Medicare, Medicaid, or from other sources
• The potential costs and benefits for making payment incentives and any other funding available to healthcare providers
For more information, email Clint D. Druk at clint.druk@psc.gov.
