$1.2 Billion Slated for HITECH Priority Grant Programs

Nearly $1.2 billion soon will be available to help the nation's hospitals, physicians and other health care professionals purchase and use electronic health records, or EHRs, according to an Aug. 20 announcement from Vice President Joe Biden. Money from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act priority grant programs, which are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will start flowing in 2010.

"With electronic health records, we are making health care safer, we're making it more efficient, we're making you healthier, and we're saving money along the way," said Biden in the announcement. "These are four necessities we need for health care in the 21st century."

The money will be divided between two programs.

According to David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., the national coordinator for health IT, the rollout of the programs "represents a critical step forward in laying the groundwork for meaningful use of EHRs."

"Together, the grants will offer much-needed local and regional assistance and technical support to providers while enabling coordination and alignment within and among states, ultimately allowing information to follow patients anywhere within the health care system," Blumenthal said in an Aug. 20 update e-mailed to health IT stakeholders and posted on the HHS Web site.

Information about the HITECH priority grants program and application requirements is available online from HHS.