Ohio receives $43.3M from ARRA for health IT initiatives
The nonprofit organization Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP) has been awarded $43.3 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 to help make EHRs more widely available in Ohio.
In addition, the state’s 2010-11 biennial budget allocates $8 million, in non-general revenue funds, to the Ohio Department of Insurance to support efforts in health IT.
More than one-third of the federal funds, $14.8 million, will go toward the development of a statewide health information exchange (HIE), according to the Columbus, Ohio-based OHIP. The remaining $28.5 million is designated to help with the creation of regional extension centers (RECs) to support hospitals and healthcare providers in their adoption of EHRs, OHIP stated.
OHIP will work with healthcare providers to lower the cost of acquiring and implementing EHRs, and will assist providers in identifying qualified vendors to ensure EHRs are integrated into each healthcare provider’s environment, the organization said.
HealthBridge, a nonprofit health information organization serving Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, has also been awarded a $9.7 million REC grant from the U.S. government to serve a tri-state region, including portions of southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southern Indiana, according to OHIP.
In addition, the state’s 2010-11 biennial budget allocates $8 million, in non-general revenue funds, to the Ohio Department of Insurance to support efforts in health IT.
More than one-third of the federal funds, $14.8 million, will go toward the development of a statewide health information exchange (HIE), according to the Columbus, Ohio-based OHIP. The remaining $28.5 million is designated to help with the creation of regional extension centers (RECs) to support hospitals and healthcare providers in their adoption of EHRs, OHIP stated.
OHIP will work with healthcare providers to lower the cost of acquiring and implementing EHRs, and will assist providers in identifying qualified vendors to ensure EHRs are integrated into each healthcare provider’s environment, the organization said.
HealthBridge, a nonprofit health information organization serving Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, has also been awarded a $9.7 million REC grant from the U.S. government to serve a tri-state region, including portions of southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southern Indiana, according to OHIP.