Funding will accelerate use of electronic health records, retain existing jobs and support nationwide health information exchange
Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey announced the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $44,436,181 to Quality Insights of Pennsylvania Inc. in King of Prussia for Health IT Regional Extension Centers. The funding is contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
These regional centers will offer technical assistance and guidance in accelerating health care providers’ efforts in becoming more effective users of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Additionally this funding will help expand the IT industry by providing support for emerging opportunities within the field of health care.
“I am pleased to see stimulus funds being used for these critical technological improvements to our health care industry,” Specter said. “Electronic health records increase patient safety, help eliminate health care errors and reduce overall health care costs. This funding will provide vital support to health care providers as they work toward adopting and implementing electronic health records.”
“Health information technology is an important tool for improving our health care system,” said Senator Casey. “The Health IT Regional Extension Centers will create jobs now and help provide better, more affordable health care for Pennsylvanians in the future.”
Quality Insights of Pennsylvania is a non-profit company focused on improving hospitals and nursing homes by providing assistance to physicians and health care technicians in using electronic medical records.
This funding is part of a larger announcement made by the Department of Health and Human Services for $267 million in awards for non-profit organizations to establish Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers. Today’s awards are part of an effort to achieve widespread meaningful use of health IT and provide use of an electronic health record by every person by the year 2014.
For more information please visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt
###
