On Monday, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced that they are going put $162 million in awards to fund more health IT projects. The funding of these awards comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from the 2009 federal economic stimulus package.

These projects are spread over 16 different states and now every state that is eligible has been awarded funds. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius remarked, “These critical investments will help unleash the power of health IT to cut costs, eliminate paperwork and help doctors deliver high-quality, coordinated care to patients.”

She continued on to say, “States are important partners in improving and expanding our electronic health records system. By improving the secure exchange of electronic health records between providers and hospitals within and across states, these awards mark a significant step in bringing out health system into the 21^st century.”

For a listing of the state agreements announced on Monday click here:

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/03/20100315a.html