HHS Puts Money into Adoption of Electronic Health Records

Friday, December 18^th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the launch of a $60 million research program to ultimately figure out how to move forward with the adoption of electronic health records.

According to a recently published press release, the money will go towards “focused research in critical areas where breakthrough advances are needed to address existing barriers to the adoption and meaningful use of heath information technology.”

The HHS National Coordinator, Dr. David Blumenthal, announced that applicants are welcome to apply to the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects. If they are awarded, they are expected to put into place a collaborative program that considers all stakeholders such as researchers, healthcare providers, and patients.

The applications for SHARP are due by January 25^th, 2010 and individuals will be awarded in March. Additionally, the awarded will be apart of a 4-year cooperative agreement.