North Texas Regional Extension Center
The North Texas Regional Extension Center (NTREC) was established as a program by the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation (DFWHC-ERF) in April 2010. The cooperative agreement with the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT in the US Department of Health and Human Services was part of the second round of Regional Extension Centers (REC) awards. Sixty RECs were established around the country, including four in the State of Texas. The $8.5 million dollar award opportunity represents federal funding of 90% of the anticipated costs of the first two years of operation through April 2012. The primary purpose of the NTREC is to promote the adoption and meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the practices of priority primary care providers. NTREC has a target of assisting 1,498 providers to meaningful use in two years.
Vision
The North Texas Regional Extension Center (NTREC) vision is to provide assistance to primary care providers in overcoming the major barriers of "Meaningful Use" of Electronic Health Records- expense, complexity and lack of IT workforce.
Providers associated with public (FQHC) or critical access hospitals (CAH) are also eligible for services at this reduced rate. Other providers are eligible for services, but will pay non-federally supported fees to obtain those services. Providers are eligible for services whether they are using a paper medical record or have already implemented an electronic health record. The NTREC services are designed to promote the adoption and improved integration of EHR’s with existing office work flows and, ultimately, the achievement of Meaningful Use.
Physician Centric
NTREC governance is a six-member board whose physician chairman presents to the DFWHC-ERF. The board consists of three practicing physicians representing the medical societies of Dallas, Smith, and Tarrant counties. Other board members include the DFWHC-ERF's President, the UT Southwestern Medical Center CIO, and a UT Dallas Professor.
Subscriber Value
Subscribing to NTREC will provide access to valuable educational materials and 20 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME). These materials and classes will teach effective strategies to "Meaningfully Use" certified Electronic Health Records (EHR). Materials from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and other professional organizations will be available.
Coverage
The geographical coverage of the NTREC is a 42 county area centered on the Dallas- Fort Worth metropolitan (shown in blue). Counties served by NTREC are listed below.
Counties served by NTREC |
Anderson |
Bowie |
Camp |
Cass |
Cherokee |
Collin |
Cooke |
Dallas |
Delta |
Denton |
Ellis |
Erath |
Fannin |
Franklin |
Grayson |
Gregg |
Harrison |
Henderson |
Hood |
Hopkins |
Hunt |
Johnson |
Kaufman |
Lamar |
Marion |
Morris |
Navarro |
Palo Pinto |
Panolo |
Parker |
Rains |
Red River |
Rockwall |
Rusk |
Smith |
Somervell |
Tarrant |
Titus |
Upshur |
Van Zandt |
Wise |
Wood |