In this round, Purdue University was awarded $12 million and HealthBridge, which covers Ohio, Kentucky and 19 southern Indiana counties, was awarded $9.7 million (corrected). Both groups are among 32 initial organizations tasked with developing regional extension centers (RECs).

The mission of RECs will be to help health professionals implement and use health information technology. RECs are expected to provide outreach and support services to 100,000 or more primary care providers and hospitals over a two-year period.

Mary Ann Sloan, director of Purdue’s Healthcare Technical Assistance Program, explained the grant funds will help them reach practices that don’t have access to the resources of larger health care systems and haven’t yet adopted electronic technology. “With this funding, we will help them select products and provide training on how to use the technology to its fullest potential to improve patient care.”

Cincinnati-based HealthBridge already has a partnership with Bloomington’s HealthLINC and the Indiana Health Information Exchange in Indianapolis. The three exchanges connect more than 15,000 physicians, 50 hospitals and 12 million patient records. As a result, physicians adopting EHR systems in the southern Indiana service area will automatically be connected to the health exchange.

“Our center will be unique in that we will be able to feed physician EHRs with external information. They won’t have to scan results into the EHR,” explained Trudi Matthews, director of Policy and Public Relations for HealthBridge.

Matthews said that HealthBridge would provide the same kind of EHR adoption assistance as Purdue; both plan kick offs in April.

“This grant gives us the opportunity to work with small practices of 10 or fewer doctors to achieve meaningful use,” noted Todd Rowland, M.D., executive director of HealthLINC. “Basically, the federal government is funding regional extension centers to help physicians get started, but this is strictly on a voluntary basis.”

Other grant funds are intended to help people acquire the skills needed for information technology jobs. In Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College and the Indianapolis Private Industry Council will receive about $5 million each to help with training and employment services particularly for careers in health care settings, including nursing.

What does this mean to you?

Regional extension centers will provide physician practices with on-site technical assistance to:

• Select a certified electronic health record (EHR) system
• Implement a system so it can be used effectively
• Enhance workflow in a way that improves the quality and value of care provided
• Comply with any legal or regulatory requirements in place to protect patient privacy and security

The education grants will assure there are enough skilled technology workers to provide the assistance needed for medical practices – here and nationwide.

Source ismanet.org

HRSA grant

On May 1st, 2006 Health Resources Services Administration awarded a $540,000 three year Rural Health Network Development Grant to foster the formation of The South Central Indiana Regional Health Care Network. This is an integrated health care network that brings together the Bloomington Hospital of Orange County, a critical access hospital; Bloomington Hospital , an acute care hospital that is focusing significant resources on development of a rural-regional health information exchange; the Bloomington E-Health Collaborative; Southern Indiana Community Health Care, a rural, non-profit/faith-based primary health care organization serving Orange and Crawford Counties in Indiana; and Southern Hills Counseling Center, a Community Mental Health Center with five separate location.

The primary problems addressed by the network include:

1) The need for improved access to health care services for rural residents in the service area.

2) The need for improved health status of rural residents in the network service area.

3) The need for improved access to health information for rural residents in the service area

4) The need for improved patient safety and quality of care in the network service area.

Copyright 2006 Bloomington E-Health Collaborative. All Rights Reserved

(DALLAS) — Patients with chronic illnesses will receive better health care, new technology will enhance patient safety and quality of care, and working, uninsured patients will receive timely, quality physician care at no cost, thanks to funding from a newly established foundation.

The Physicians’ Foundation for Health Systems Excellence (PFHSE) proudly announces its first round of grants totaling $16 million. The grantees are nonprofit organizations across the country.

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