About Us
The Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC) is a partnership among Northwestern University, the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services and more than 40 local and national collaborators focused on HIT adoption and use needs within the city of Chicago. CHITREC is a local service organization, specifically serving the 606xx zip code region in Chicago, and provides a range of services to primary care providers interested in achieving meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR). As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Office of National Coordinator for HIT has provided initial funding for the regional extension center with most of the funds allocated for direct assistance to providers.
CHITREC brings together resources and provides consultation, education and provisioning services to help primary care providers achieve meaningful use of EHRs. By understanding the technical and regulatory environment, CHITREC assesses individual and network needs and bridges the gaps by effectively directing appropriate resources.
Our Mission
To bring together resources and create a focal point of expertise that will enlighten providers, deliver results, and build the sustainable foundation for achieving meaningful use of health IT.
Our Vision
To help Chicago become a leader in the development and advanced use of health information technology.
Our Goals
- Create a not for profit, participatory infrastructure to establish a coordinated approach to use of HIT in Chicago.
- Deliver electronic health records (EHR) and Meaningful Use consultation and solutions across all of Chicago while achieving economies of scale and an affordable cost structure.
- Develop jobs and internships by fostering a tight relationship between our team of experts and collaborators from academia and industry, with local students, community workforce organizations and the Illinois Department of Labor to enable bilateral knowledge and work skills transfer.
Founding Partners
CHITREC builds upon the academic health information technology insights, resources and experience at Northwestern University, coupled with the pragmatic and nationally recognized EHR implementation service delivery model successfully developed at the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, a Health Resources and Services Administration funded Safety Net Health Center. Additionally, CHITREC has assembled a team of local and national partners, with the collective resources, technical knowledge and experience to assure a rapid and successful startup of the Center.
Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (IL-HITREC)
The Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (IL-HITREC) is a collaboration of several healthcare and educational organizations that are focused on providing education, outreach and technical assistance to priority primary care providers that are interested in achieving meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) within the state of Illinois minus the Chicago 606* zip codes. IL-HITREC is administered by Northern Illinois University in partnership with the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation, Quality Quest for Health of Illinois, and the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. For more information, please visit http://www.ilhitrec.org.
Illinois Health Information Exchange
The State of Illinois is expanding the use of health information technology to improve the delivery of healthcare in Illinois. HIE is the use of electronic medical records and e-prescribing to assist medical providers in understanding a patient's full medical history.
HIE allows healthcare providers to share and access vital health information to:
- Improve healthcare quality and outcomes
- Improve patient safety
- Reduce health disparities
- Reduce medical errors and duplicative services
- Enhance coordination of patient care among providers
- Reduce or eliminate paper
- Control the cost of healthcare
- Enhance public health and disease surveillance
- Promote greater efficiency
The Illinois Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) was created by Executive Order 2010-1, signed by Governor Pat Quinn on February 12, 2010. OHIT works to promote the development of health information technology, increase the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records, assure the privacy and security of electronic health information, and direct the State's Health Information Exchange (HIE) planning efforts. OHIT is currently working to engage a broad range of healthcare stakeholders in developing its Strategic and Operational plan to create a statewide HIE.
For more information, please visit http://www.hie.illinois.gov.
FOUNDING PARTNERS
