Massachusetts is the recipient of another round of stimulus funding for statewide health information technology systems.
The funding includes two $1.7 million challenge grants from the Dept. of Health & Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) that are indicated to support innovation in population-level healthcare analysis and improving transitions from long-term and post-acute care.
"Massachusetts led the nation on health reform, and this investment will help us lead again in modernizing medical records. Better technology and more efficient record keeping mean better care and fewer medical errors." in Sen John Kerry (D-Mass.) said in prepared remarks.
ONC granted seven other state programs funds totaling $16.3 million to support: Development of health information exchanges, giving patients access to their own health information and creating tools and approaches to search for and share granular patient data — such as specific lab results for a given time period.
The grants fall under ONC’s "State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program," which is designed to "funds states’ efforts to rapidly build capacity for exchanging health information across the health care system both within and across states," according to the ONC website. The program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The list of grants awarded in the latest round announced Jan. 27 follows:
| State organization | Previous Award Amount | Amount Awarded January 2011 |
| Colorado Regional Health Information Organization | $9,175,777.00 | $1,718,783.00 |
| Georgia Department of Community Health | $13,003,003.00 | $1,686,989.00 |
| Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc. | $10,300,000.00 | $1,718,439.00 |
| Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc. | $1,267,970.00 | |
| Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation | $10,599,719.00 | $1,717,610.00 |
| Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation | $1,675,019.00 | |
| Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene | $9,313,924.00 | $1,683,171.00 |
| HealthShare Montana | $5,767,926.00 | $1,400,802.00 |
| NC Dept of State Treasurer | $12,950,860.00 | $1,708,693.00 |
| Oklahoma Health Care Authrity | $8,883,741.00 | $1,719,086.00 |
| TOTAL |
$79,994,950.00 | $16,296,562.00 |
The table below represents the program’s funding since it began doling out grants to states in March 2010.
| State organization | Amount |
| Alabama Medicaid Agency | $10,564,789 |
| State of Alaska | $4,963,063 |
| Arizona Governor's Office of Economic Recovery | $9,377,000 |
| Arkansas Dept of Finance and Administration | $7,909,401 |
| California Health and Human Services Agency | $38,752,536 |
| Colorado Regional Health Information Organization | $9,175,777 |
| Department of Public Health, State of CT | $7,297,930 |
| Delaware Health Information Network | $4,680,284 |
| Government of the District of Columbia | $5,189,709 |
| Agency of Health Care Administration (FL) | $20,738,582 |
| Georgia Department of Community Health | $13,003,003 |
| The Hawaii Health Information Exchange | $5,602,318 |
| Idaho Health Data Exchange | $5,940,500 |
| Illinois Department of Health care and Family Services | $18,837,639 |
| Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc. | $10,300,000 |
| Iowa Department of Public Health | $8,375,000 |
| Kansas Health Information Exchange Project | $9,010,066 |
| Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Kentucky) | $9,750,000 |
| Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum | $10,583,000 |
| State of Maine/Governor's Office of Health Policy & Finance | $6,599,401 |
| The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene | $9,313,924 |
| Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation | $10,599,719 |
| Michigan Department of Health | $14,993,085 |
| Minnesota Department of Health | $9,622,000 |
| State of Mississippi | $10,387,000 |
| Missouri Depart of Social Services | $13,765,040 |
| HealthShare Montana | $5,767,926 |
| Nebraska Department of Administrative Services | $6,837,180 |
| Nevada Department of Health and Human Services | $6,133,426 |
| New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services | $5,457,856 |
| New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority | $11,408,594 |
| LCF Research, New Mexico | $7,070,441 |
| New York eHealth Collaborative Inc. | $22,364,782 |
| North Carolina Department of State Treasurer | $12,950,860 |
| State of North Dakota, Information Technology Department | $5,343,733 |
| Ohio Health Information Partnership LLC | $14,872,199 |
| Oklahoma Health Care Authority | $8,883,741 |
| State of Oregon | $8,579,992 |
| Governor's Office of Health Care Reform Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | $17,140,446 |
| Rhode Island Quality Institute | $5,280,000 |
| South Carolina Department of Health & Human Services | $9,576,408 |
| South Dakota Department of Health | $6,081,750 |
| State of Tennessee | $11,664,580 |
| Texas Health and Human Services Commission | $28,810,208 |
| Utah Department of Health | $6,296,705 |
| Vermont Department of Human Services | $5,034,328 |
| Virginia Department of Health | $11,613,537 |
| Health Care Authority (Washington) | $11,300,000 |
| West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources | $7,819,000 |
| Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services | $9,441,000 |
| Office of the Governor (Wyoming) | $4,873,000 |
| Pacific Ecommerce Development Corporation (American Samoa) | $600,000 |
| Office of the Governor (Guam) | $1,600,000 |
| Commonwealth of the NMI, Department of Public Health | $800,000 |
| Oticina del Gobernador La Fortaeza (Puerto Rico) | $7,770,980 |
| Virgin Islands Department of Health | $1,000,000 |
| Total | $547,703,438 |
Table source: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
