Feds Fund 28 More Extension Centers

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced $267 million in grants to 28 not-for-profit organizations to develop and operate health information technology regional extension centers, which will offer technical assistance to providers implementing electronic health records and other I.T. systems.


The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced $267 million in grants to 28 not-for-profit organizations to develop and operate health information technology regional extension centers, which will offer technical assistance to providers implementing electronic health records and other I.T. systems.

That brings to 60 the number of such centers funded under the HITECH Act; 32 organizations received a total of $375 million in February. HITECH authorizes up to 70 regional extension centers to offer technical assistance to providers.

In addition to the initial grants, all extension center awardees may apply for a two-year "expansion supplemental award," under a new $25 million program. The supplemental awards would be used to ensure that health I.T. support services are available to rural and critical access hospitals with 50 or fewer beds.

A complete list of regional extension center grant awardees is available at healthit.hhs.gov/programs/REC.

--Joseph Goedert

 

More for you

Loading data for hdm_tax_topic #better-outcomes...