The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for Medicaid and Medicare providers.  Beginning in 2011, eligible Medi-Cal professionals and hospitals will be able to receive incentive payments to assist in purchasing, installing, and using electronic health records in their practices.

The Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) has been established in DHCS to develop goals and metrics for the program, establish policies and procedures, and to implement systems to disburse, track, and report the incentive payments. OHIT works closely with the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Health Information Technology in the California Health and Human Services Agency to coordinate the Medi-Cal Electronic Health Record Incentive Program with wider health information exchange efforts throughout California and the nation. 

OHIT can be contacted at Medi-Cal.EHR@dhcs.ca.gov.