title: Beacon communities aim to use health information technology to transform the delivery of care.
abstract: The Beacon Community Program, authorized under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), aims to demonstrate the potential for health information technology to enable local improvements in health care quality, cost efficiency, and population health. If successful, these communitywide efforts will yield important lessons that will assist other communities seeking to harness technology to achieve and sustain health care improvements. This paper highlights key programmatic details that reflect the meaningful use of technology in the fifteen Beacon communities. It describes the innovations they propose and provides insight into current and future challenges.
authors.affiliation: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA. Emily.Maxson@hhs.gov
authors.forename: Emily R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Maxson
authors.forename: Sachin H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Aaron N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: McKethan
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brammer
authors.forename: Melinda Beeuwkes
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Buntin
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cronin
authors.forename: Farzad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mostashari
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
mesh_terms: D057171:American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; D019985:Benchmarking; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006801:Humans; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D016730:Program Development; D012052:Reimbursement, Incentive; D014481:United States