Readiness for meaningful use of health information technology and patient centered medical home recognition survey results.

Objective: Determine the factors that impact HIT use and MU readiness for community health centers (CHCs).

Background: The HITECH Act allocates funds to Medicaid and Medicare providers to encourage the adoption of electronic health records (EHR), in an effort to improve health care quality and patient outcomes, and to reduce health care costs.

Methods: We surveyed CHCs on their Readiness for Meaningful Use (MU) of Health Information Technology (HIT) and Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition, then we combined responses with 2009 Uniform Data System data to determine which factors impact use of HIT and MU readiness.

Results: Nearly 70% of CHCs had full or partial EHR adoption at the time of survey. Results are presented for centers with EHR adoption, by the length of time that their EHR systems have been in operation.