History

The California Health Information Partnership & Services Organization (CalHIPSO) was formed through a partnership among three of California’s largest health care provider organizations – The California Medical Association (CMA), the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), and the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH).  CalHIPSO’s primary objective is to enable safety net providers, including small and solo practice physicians and community clinics, to use health information technology to improve their practices and participate in payment reform. CalHIPSO was the largest of the 62 federally-designated Regional Extension Centers (RECs), which were created through the 2009 Stimulus Act to provide technical assistance to help providers implement EHRs and to achieve Meaningful Use of those systems.  The REC program ended December 2015.

Our Accomplishments

As the largest REC in the country, CalHIPSO helped more than 8,500 physicians to adopt an EHR, and more than 6,300 to achieve Stage 1 of Meaningful Use.  In both areas, CalHIPSO exceeded its original goal set through the REC program. CalHIPSO REC affiliated providers received almost $200 million in EHR incentive payments.

First among the Top 5 Federally-Designated RECs
Listed by Number of Providers Who Have Achieved Meaningful Use

REC Name	Providers
CalHIPSO	6,302
Ohio Health Information Partnership	6,027
New Jersey HIT Extension Center	4,987
New York eHealth Collaborative	4,287
New York City REACH	4,207

In June 2015, CalHIPSO received a $15 million contract from the California Department of Health Care Services for the California Technical Assistance Program (CTAP). This program focuses on providers whose practices are at least 30 percent Medi-Cal patients.  To date, CalHIPSO has helped over 5,000 CTAP eligible professionals (EPs). Since the program’s inception, more than 450 organizations (health centers, private practices, and ambulatory outpatient clinics) have earned almost 60 million dollars in EHR Incentive Program incentives.

Through the CTAP and REC programs thus far, CalHIPSO has provided technical assistance to over 13,000 eligible professionals, spanning more than 1,400 organizations statewide, earning more than $300 million!

Our Vision & Mission

CalHIPSO serves as California’s health information resource to support the effective use of electronic health information to continuously improve care quality and deliver efficient services.

Our Mission is to partner with California’s clinical providers to transform health care delivery through the effective use of technology to achieve high-quality, efficient health care services, support care coordination and promote health reform.