A Delaware regional extension center (REC) says it is the first REC in the nation to reach its goal of helping 1,000 primary care providers achieve Stage 1 of meaningful use of their electronic health record (EHR) systems. 

The REC, Quality Insights of Delaware (QIDE REC), began offering Delaware physicians technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices in 2010 and out of the nation’s 62 Health Information Technology RECs is first to surpass the 1,000 primary care provider milestone.  Quality Insights of Delaware REC is part of the WVMI & Quality Insights family of companies, which also provides REC services to physicians in Pennsylvania and West Virginia

“The Delaware state motto of ‘the First State’ is fitting also for the Delaware REC, which is the first state to reach their goal of bringing primary care providers, often in small and underserved practices, to meaningful use,” Kimberly Lynch, ONC’s Regional Extension Center (REC) Programs Director, said in a statement.  “Delaware's goal was 1,000 providers, and as of today 1,016 have demonstrated meaningful use in partnership with the REC. We look forward to the next chapter as the Delaware REC supports physicians, nurses and other providers as they leverage meaningful use and continue transforming their practices to improve patient care.”

According to Beth Schindele, QIDE REC Director, the 1000+ providers are a foundation for dramatic growth. She says, clinicians without EHRs will now be able to see the benefits of electronic communications between others on the care team and be encouraged to make the switch themselves.

Other RECs have achieved likewise milestones. In July, the Regional Extension Center of New Hampshire (RECNH) announced that more than 65 percent the State’s primary care providers and 85 percent of its critical access hospitals (CAHs) have attested to meaningful use of EHRs.