OpportunityTitle: Tracking Electronic Health Record Adoption And Capturing Related Insights in U.S. Hospitals
CategoryExplanation: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, Title XIII of Division A and Title IV of Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Pub. L. No. 111-5, set forth a plan for advancing a nationwide health information technology infrastructure to facilitate the electronic use and exchange of information and to improve the quality and efficiency of health care, among other objectives. Central to this vision of nationwide electronic health information exchange is the use of electronic health records (EHRs). The HITECH Act authorizes the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) to administer incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) for adopting, implementing, or upgrading certified EHR technology (Medicaid incentives only), and for demonstrating &#147;meaningful use&#148; of certified EHR technology (Medicare and Medicaid incentives).&#148; Since 2008, ONC has partnered with the AHA through grants administered through NIH to track the use of health IT and related insights in U.S. hospitals. ONC now has its own grant management capability, and more importantly, is explicitly tasked through the HITECH Act with overseeing many federal efforts relating to health IT. As a result, continuing to track the adoption of electronic health records and related attitudes and insights in U.S. hospitals is critical to the responsibilities of ONC and evaluating the impact of Medicare and Medicaid incentives and related ONC programs.
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: This is a non-competitive funding opportunity and is restricted to the organization designated below. Organizations not designated as such are not eligible to apply for this opportunity, and therefore should not submit an application. Applications submitted by organizations not designated below will not be considered.  Designated Organization: The American Hospital Association (AHA)
Description: Significant federal investments to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records and exchange of clinical data are now in place. It is critical to continue to track the adoption of electronic health records and related attitudes and insights to: (1) ascertain the status of adoption and evaluate existing and proposed policy decisions; (2) evaluate the impact of ONC programs and related incentives for meaningful use; and (3) make resources available to ONC and external researchers to assess the effects of health IT adoption and exchange on key aspects of care, such as quality and efficiency. The data that would be generated under this funding opportunity would enable ONC and researchers to carry out these important activities for inpatient settings.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Dustin Charles
GrantorContactText: For technical issues only, contact &lt;br/&gt;Bianca Costa at bianca.costa@hhs.gov &lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;Otherwise for program specific questions contact Dustin Charles at dustin.charles@hhs.gov &lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;