Health IT Initiatives Announced
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Friday announced that her department will be awarding more than $750 million in funding from last year's economic stimulus package for two initiatives that will help doctors and hospitals in adopting electronic health records and assist states in developing platforms for the secure and private exchange of health information.
The department will provide $375 million in grant awards for 32 non-profit organizations to support the development of regional extension centers aimed at helping health professionals as they migrate to the use of electronic health records. The centers are expected to provide outreach and support services to at least 100,000 primary care providers and hospitals within two years. In a conference call with reporters, Sebelius noted that the funding will help put 3,000-4000 people on the ground working at these centers "to provide the hands-on technical support that we think providers need to make this transition," with a particular focus on small health care providers. She said additional grant funding for these centers will be announced in March as part of the department's effort to create a national network to assist providers in the use of health IT.
Sebelius said $386 million also will go to 40 states and others to facilitate the exchange of health information at the state level and ensure the data is secure and patient privacy is protected. "Privacy is the top priority," she said. "Patients need to be confident that health records are kept private."
When pressed on what steps the department is taking to ensure such data is protected, HHS Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal said his office is taking several steps. He noted that the economic stimulus package included language increasing fines for breaches of health data. He added that his office also is examining new ways of using encryption and has been working with the White House cybersecurity coordinator on the issue. In addition, HHS will soon be appointing a chief privacy officer, who will be "an important source of expertise" on privacy.
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Health IT
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