For the past year, the health IT industry has been energized by the prospect of more than $30 billion being poured into health IT projects from money allocated in the HITECH sections of the stimulus bill. Following more than a year of committee discussions, rulemaking, and clarifications around the bill, the industry is beginning to reap the benefits as awards are being made by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).
In the whirlwind of states vying for funding, Maryland is no exception. The state, having completed a yearlong planning process for a health information exchange (HIE), as well as other health IT initiatives, was well-positioned to put the stimulus funding to good use. In recent months, the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) was awarded $9.3 million in
HIE implementation funding, which will be used to help fund
CRISP, Maryland’s state-designated HIE (see
press release). Because of its HIE progress to date, Maryland was one of a select group of states to receive implementation rather than planning funding. Recently, CRISP was also awarded $5.5 million to establish a
Regional Extension Center (REC) . The REC will assist primary care providers across the state in meeting meaningful use of electronic medical records (EMRs) by offering implementation assistance, funding subsidies, and educational information. Finally, Johns Hopkins University received about $5.5 million in ONC funding to both develop university-level
health IT curriculum and establish a
training program for health IT professionals.
The state of Maryland is poised to quickly progress in developing health IT systems that will contribute to improvements in quality of care. With the infrastructure in place to cultivate a workforce competent in health IT; encourage providers to achieve meaningful use of electronic medical records; and provide the governance and technology necessary for providers to share electronic health information across the state, the citizens of Maryland will soon be seeing some tangible benefits from federal funding. AI is excited to work on a number of these stimulus-funded HIT initiatives that will contribute to transforming our health care system and improving patient care for all.