HHS grants improve Medicaid data management

HHS has awarded $103 million to 27 states, supporting programs a range of programs--including health IT initiatives--designed to improve the way Medicaid dollars are used. Congress has approved a total of $150 million for these "transformation grants," which will distributed over fiscal '07 and '08. While the states will be able to use the funds for a variety of purposes, key themes include the development of programs to encourage EMR use, clinical decision support tools or e-prescribing. Other areas include increasing utilization of generic drugs, implementation of a medication risk management programs and improving access to primary care and specialty physicians using integrated university-based hospitals and clinics. Interesting IT projects that were funded, included a health information exchange/e-prescribing initiative in Connecticut, which got $5 million, an $11.8 million Medicaid HIE in Arizona, an "open Vista ASP Network" in Hawaii, which got $3.2 million, and a $1.5 million grant integrating EHRs with clinical decision making. What I'd like to see added to this list, personally, is a grant which is explicitly designed to speed up how quickly at which Medicaid physicians get paid. Now there's an IT initiative everyone would love.

To learn more about the grant program:
- read this press release from HHS, which lists state by state awards
- get more background on the grant application guidelines