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Governor Janet Napolitano has proclaimed June 5-9, 2006 as Health Information Technology (HIT) Week in Arizona. The proclamation was issued in an effort to encourage physicians across the state to adopt electronic health records (EHRs) and help accelerate the use of HIT by 2010, thus improving health care efficiency and quality for all of Arizona's citizens.

The Governor's proclamation coincides with National HIT Week, the nation's first fully collaborative annual forum where public and private sector organizations unite under one banner to promote the common national goal of interoperable HIT adoption.

Payers, providers, clinicians, vendors, consumer organizations, quality health care organizations, policy experts and research foundations, as well as representatives from the government, have joined National HIT Week to strengthen alliances between private industry and the public sector in order to achieve the President's goal of widespread interoperable EHRs by 2014.

In April 2006, the Arizona Health-e Connection Steering Committee delivered its Roadmap for the future of EHRs to Napolitano, outlining a path for Arizona to securely exchange medical information statewide, reduce costs and improve quality of patient care, and set the stage for the advent of EHR adoption by 2010, four years ahead of the national goal.

In Arizona, EHR adoption in the physician office setting is promoted through the Doctors' Office Quality Information Technology (DOQ-IT) Program, an initiative led by Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG), Arizona's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO), and supported by all state medical societies and key HIT organizations. DOQ-IT supporters include:

• The Arizona Medical Association

• The Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association

• The Arizona Academy of Family Physicians

• The Arizona Chapter of the American College of Physicians

• The Maricopa County Medical Society

• The Pima County Medical Society

• The Governor's Health-e Connection Initiative

The DOQ-IT program is a three-year (2005-2008) national initiative that aims to: (1) Promote the adoption and effective use of electronic health information technologies in physician offices, (2) Improve quality of care, (3) Increase efficiency of care, and (4) Increase patient safety.

Funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Arizona DOQ-IT program offers collaborative learning sessions, on-site consultation, and numerous EHR tools and resources to small- to medium-sized physician offices serving Medicare recipients. Because DOQ-IT is made available at no charge, space is limited. The target date for final enrollment is June 30.

In proclaiming June 5-9, 2006 as Arizona HIT Week, Napolitano stated that the Arizona DOQ-IT Program and its cadre of quality improvement and medical society partners are "an essential component to achieving our 2010 Statewide EHR adoption goal."

To learn more about Arizona HIT Week, or how to participate in the Arizona DOQ-IT program, visit www.azdoqit.org or call 602.308.7197.

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About Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG)
For 25 years HSAG has provided innovative leadership on health care quality improvement projects for federal, state and private sector clients. Founded by a team of medical professionals in 1979, HSAG is one of most experienced quality improvement organizations in the nation. HSAG is recognized as an agent of change in the health care industry because of the company's successful collaboration with providers across the continuum of care.

This material was prepared by Health Services Advisory Group, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Arizona, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. Publication number: AZ-8SOW-1D-060506-01.