The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on September 10 awarded nearly $20 million in new technical support assistance to help critical access and rural hospital facilities convert from paper-based medical records to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.
The funding is provided under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Forty-six regional extension centers located in 41 states and the nationwide Indian Country received new grants, which ranged from $84,000 to $1.5 million. The funding is part of the Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospitals Project, a priority for the regional extension center program. The intent of the project is to provide additional technical support to critical access and rural hospitals with fewer than 50 beds in selecting and implementing EHR systems primarily within the outpatient setting.
Related Reading
HHS awards $267M to health IT centers, April 7, 2010
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