U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Indian Health Service: The Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives
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Meaningful Use

Steps Toward Achieving Meaningful Use

Connect With Colleagues and Sources of Help

Local Meaningful Use Team

Create a small group of local staff who will focus on planning and monitoring Meaningful Use (MU) activities

This facility team may include a Clinical Application Coordinator (CAC), Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) site manager, at least one Electronic Health Record (EHR) Super User, subject matter experts, such as those with expertise in pharmacy and labs, and others. Your area Meaningful Use coordinator and Meaningful Use consultant will work closely with the team. Here are some steps to take:

  • Identify and contact your area Meaningful Use coordinator and Meaningful Use consultant.
  • Appoint a facility Meaningful Use point-of-contact/coordinator.
  • Establish a facility Meaningful Use team.
  • Collaborate with Improving Patient Care (IPC) and Government Performance and Performance Act (GPRA) coordinators to integrate Meaningful Use, IPC, and GPRA.

Indian Health Service Resources

Learn, find tools, and get help from National Indian Health Service (IHS) teams and their Web sites:

Regional Extension Center

Sign up your providers with the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) Regional Extension Center (REC) to bring more federal funds to meaningful use in Indian Country.

RECs are funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and provide support to health care providers and medical facilities in adopting a certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) and achieving Meaningful Use. NIHB supports the same activities, but specifically to providers of the Indian Health Service (IHS), tribes, urban, and tribal organization facilities (I/T/U). The NIHB is the only National REC.

Eligible professionals and facilities need to take the following steps:

  • Ensure eligible professionals and facilities complete a provider agreement with a REC and electronically submit the agreement.
  • IHS Federal & Urban Sites complete a NIHB REC provider agreement package as soon as possible. For the Provider Agreement Package, go to the Indian Health Board Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov home page. Each facility should submit an agreement listing its providers.
  • Tribal Sites sign a Provider Agreement Package with a REC of your choice on the Indian Health Board Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov home page OR go to the ONC list of State RECs Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov

Provider Agreement Assistance

  • All facilities should sign up as soon as possible to enable the release of the ONC funding necessary to support Indian Country in the achievement of Meaningful Use.
  • A variety of Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) tools are available to assist with filling out the Provider Agreement for RPMS Users.
  • Practice demographics are available on the new RPMS Business Office management report, released on 1/5/11 in RPMS TPB v2.6, Patch 5. It provides the number of patients, number of patient encounters, and number of unique patients. It also provides patient demographics, including the percent of patients on Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and those who are uninsured.
  • Two reports provide the data that is needed to sign up with an REC. The Certified EHR-Meaningful Use Application Checklist and Creating a Printout of NPI Numbers provide two options that RPMS users can use to identify the provider NPI numbers at I/T/U facilities using RPMS.

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