History
The National Center for Primary Care extended its expertise into the field of Health Information Technology in 2005 after receiving a cooperative agreement from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Regional Coordinating Center for Hurricane Response (RCC) to assist with rebuilding the health system across the Gulf region after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Many in the underserved communities of AL, MS, LA and TX found themselves without shelter and without medication and access to healthcare. It was during these times that our team of clinical and technology experts partnered with community organizations in the Gulf to support existing programs and develop new strategies to help rebuild the healthcare infrastructure. This included helping with the adoption of Electronic Health Records and telehealth, including telepsychiatry, programs to improve access to care and to support the physical and mental health of the population.
This valuable experience helped to catapult the NCPC into position to acquire a cooperative agreement with The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). This agreement led to the launch of the Georgia Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (GA-HITREC) in 2010 as one of 62 Regional Exchange Center’s across the United States created to assist healthcare providers and health systems in the transition from paper-based charting to electronic health record technology. In late 2012, GA-HITREC became known as GA-HITEC to better align with the goals of the national goals of NCPC. The level of competency that was obtained over these critical years to followed have allowed the NCPC, through its work in the Health IT Division, to extend its education, training and technical support into diverse communities across this nation.
As the Health IT Division continues to expand into national placement, the name GA-HITEC as the technical assistance arm of the division was retired and replaced with new name of Hi-Bridge Solutions.