Feds move up timetable for extension centers, announce HIT grant programs

As the health IT community waits for CMS to issue its definition of meaningful use, others within HHS and the Obama administration have been busy handing out health IT dollars from the federal stimulus.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is moving up its timetable for setting up a network of 70 regional health IT extension centers, announcing that it will award grants for about 30 centers on Jan. 21 and the remaining grants in March. ONC originally had planned on making the awards in three stages, starting this month but extending all the way to September 2010. "We want to get these centers launched as quickly as possible so they can be ready to help for meaningful use in 2011," national coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal said, according to Government Health IT.

Meanwhile the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said last week that it would award $44 million in grants to help improve electronic collection of data for comparative effectiveness research. And the White House announced nearly $600 million in funding for community health centers, as much as $88 million of which will go toward electronic medical records and updating of other IT systems.

For more:
- see this Government Health IT story about the HIT extension centers
- read what Government Health IT had to say about the AHRQ grants
- see the actual AHRQ application notice
- check out this Associated Press/Boston Globe story on community health centers

Related Articles:
Biden, Sebelius, Blumenthal announce funding for EMR extension centers, HIE
AHRQ handing out $48M in grants for comparative effectiveness research

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