skip header and navigation
H R S A News U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

HRSA NEWS ROOM
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Contact: HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376

HHS Secretary Thompson Announces Awards Worth $2 Million to Expand Use of Electronic Health Information

Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced awards worth more than $2 million with nine organizations to develop community-based programs that test strategies to improve the quality and safety of health care by expanding the use and exchange of electronic health information.
 
Secretary Thompson announced the awards as he opened a special Secretarial Summit on Health Information Technology at this year's National Health Information Infrastructure Conference, July 21-23, in Washington, D.C.
 
The nine awards go to:
 

  • Central Indiana Healthcare Collaboration, Indianapolis, $425,000;
  • Connecting Colorado, Denver, $300,000;
  • MA-SHARE MedsInfo e-Prescribing Initiative, Waltham, Mass., $400,000;
  • MD/DC Collaborative for Healthcare Information Technology, Washington, D.C., $100,000;
  • Santa Barbara County Care Data Exchange, Santa Barbara, Calif., $400,000;
  • Taconic Health Information Network and Community, Fishkill, N.Y., $100,000;
  • Tri-Cities TN-VA Care Data Exchange, Kingsport, Tenn., $100,000;
  • Whatcom County e-Prescribing Project, Bellingham, Wash., $100,000; and
  • National Institute for Medical Informatics – Midwest, Milwaukee, Wis., $100,000.
 
The organizations were chosen following a competitive process from among 134 community applicants in 42 states and the District of Columbia.  Applicants were required to include in their proposals the involvement of at least three stakeholder groups; a clinical focus; the use of standards; and the provision of matching funds. 
 
Awardees will test and evaluate strategies that address important challenges to the implementation of health information exchange, including:
 
  • mobilizing information and equipment to process prescriptions electronically;
  • testing and evaluating financial incentives to support the use of health information technologies;
  • exploring methods to use existing health information technology to support public health surveillance and response activities;
  • testing ways to share medical records and other patient data among health care institutions in multiple states and jurisdictions; and
  • furthering the implementation of community-wide health information exchange and putting tools and resources into the public domain.
 
In April 2004 President Bush formed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and called for widespread deployment of health information technology within 10 years.  An important aspect of the President's initiative is the development of a nationwide, interoperable health information technology infrastructure that will improve the safety, quality, efficiency, and coordination of health care delivery in America.

####
Note: All HRSA press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov


Go to:  HRSA News Room | HRSA | HHS  | Accessibility | Privacy | Disclaimers | Search | Questions?