By John Moore
New York State has awarded about $60 million in grants for localized health information technology projects, one of three rounds of grants recently issued under the state’s Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers (HEAL NY) initiative.
Gov. David Paterson announced grants totaling $436 million on Sept. 25. In addition to health IT, the grants will fund collaborative projects among hospitals and improvements to long-term care.
The state will allocate the funds through its Department of Health and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
The health IT portion of the grants, HEAL NY Phase 10, targets community-based projects focused on information sharing. Examples include a $6.7 million grant to the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization to help launch electronic health records and health information exchange to “improve coordination of care for adult patients with chronic pulmonary disease,” according to the health department.
HEAL NY Phase 11, meanwhile, provides more than $174 million in grants that aim to promote collaborative arrangements among hospitals in an effort to boost the quality and efficiency of care delivery. In HEAL NY Phase 12, more than $172 million in grants will be issued to 19 applicants for long-term care related projects.
