Health Information Technology

The National Rural Health Resource Center, in collaboration with Stratis Health, the College of St. Scholastica, the National Rural Health Association and the Rural Assistance Center, is the U.S. leader in rural health information technology (HIT) education, information and technical assistance. As the national knowledge center on rural electronic health record adoption, The Center offers comprehensive services targeted at rural hospitals, rural health clinics and state and national HIT programs. The Center staffs the National Rural HIT Coalition, which since 2006 has been the leading voice on rural HIT issues. The Center's services are summarized below.

Rural HIT Education 

• Host national rural HIT conferences
• Host rural HIT bootcamps for providers, vendors and policy makers
• Maintain an HIT speakers bureau
• Provide assistance in rural HIT education design and management
• Provide ongoing web based education on HIT to hospitals and clinics
• HIT fundamentals specifically designed for critical access hospitals and rural clinics

Rural Technical Assistance in HIT Adoption 

• Conduct HIT readiness assessments
• Conduct meaningful use assessments
• Conduct HIT network readiness assessments
• Facilitate HIT strategic planning
• Provide go-live support
• Assist with vendor selection
• Calculate HIT total costs of ownership
• Provide technical support and business strategy consulting to HIT vendors
• Provide technical assistance to rural HIT policy makers, including the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
• Provide technical assistance to 45 state Medicare Flex Programs, which serve the nation’s more than 1,300 critical access hospitals 

Rural HIT Research and Management 

• Conduct national research on rural HIT and broadband capacity
• Manage multiple HIT key informant groups
• Manage various HIT communities of practice
• Host national rural HIT summit meetings 

Rural HIT Tools and Resources

• Electronic health record (EHR) Roadmap for Critical Access Hospitals
• Rural Hospital/Clinic HIT Readiness Assessment
• Rural Hospital/Clinic Meaningful Use Gap Assessment
• HIT Network Readiness Assessment 

Rural HIT Program Experience

• Staff the National Rural HIT Coalition since 2006
• Partner in the HIT Regional Extension Center for Minnesota and North Dakota since 2009
• Conducted a national HIT survey of critical access hospitals with approximately 800 responses, 2008
• Conducted a national broadband survey, 2010
• Hosted The National Rural HIT Conference, 2007
• Provide technical assistance to 45 state offices of rural health on HIT through the Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC), since 2009
• Conducted a national survey of rural health networks, identifying HIT leaders, 2010-2011
• Assisted the Office of Rural Health Policy with the HIT Network program, 2010-2011
• Provide HIT support to 200 rural hospitals in an 8 state region of the Mississippi Delta, since 2008
• Provided more than 40 webinar educational sessions on HIT
• Provided TA in the field to numerous rural hospitals and clinics
• Served as a repository of information, models and resources on rural HIT, since 2006 

For more information on The Center’s HIT services, contact Kate Stenehjem at (218) 727-9390 ext. 236 or kstenehjem@ruralcenter.org