title: A health center controlled network's experience in ambulatory care EHR implementation.
abstract: Implementing a full-featured EHR at a community health center is a daunting undertaking. Stakeholder buy-in, contract negotiation, workflow redesign, equipment purchases, preloading charts and trainings are just some of the necessary tasks in managing an implementation. METCHIT, a health center controlled network, used a collaborative approach to implement electronic medical records. This article will cover the experience, benefits and lessons learned by a group of four FQHCs that took a cooperative, mentorship approach to implementation. Since 2005, the four community health centers, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Morris Heights Health Center, Settlement Health, and Comprehensive Community Development Corporation, have implemented EHRs at four organizations with multiple sites in diverse neighborhoods in New York City. The collaboration began and grew during this period, aided by a technology grant from HRSA.
authors.affiliation: Metropolitan Collaborative of Health Information Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Egleson
authors.forename: Jennifer H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Collymore
authors.forename: Warria
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Esmond
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Perry
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pong
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sherman
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D057171:American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; D003151:Community Health Centers; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D014481:United States