$1.2 Billion in IT Grants Available
Vice President Joe Biden announced on August 20 the availability of grants worth nearly $1.2 billion to help hospitals and health care providers implement and use electronic health records (EHR).
The grants will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and will help health care providers qualify for new incentives that will be made available in 2010 to doctors and hospitals that meaningfully use EHRs.
The grants made available include:
- Grants totaling $598 million to establish approximately 70 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers, which will provide hospitals and clinicians with hands-on technical assistance in the selection, acquisition, implementation, and meaningful use of certified EHR systems.
- Grants totaling $564 million to states and Qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) to support the development of mechanisms for information sharing within an emerging nationwide system of networks.
The extension center grants will be awarded on a rolling basis, with the first awards being issued in fiscal year 2010. Grants to states will be made in fiscal year 2010.
The grants are part of an overall strategy to meet a goal from President Obama to have all medical records computerized by 2014. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included nearly $20 billion in funding for healthcare IT
For more information on the grants, or to apply, visit http://healthit.hhs.gov.