Federal Government Invested $1B To Address Rural Health IT Needs

Since 2012, about $1 billion in federal funding has helped rural health systems in 13 states address IT needs, according to federal officials, FierceHealthIT reports (Dvorak, FierceHealthIT, 5/6).

Background

President Obama in 2011 announced the White House Rural Council initiative, an investment in rural health that aims to link rural providers and hospitals to health IT funding. The initiative is led by HHS and USDA (DeSalvo/McBride, “Health IT Buzz,” 5/4).

Funding Details

In a “Health IT Buzz” post, National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo and Rural Utilities Service Administrator Brandon McBride wrote that investments made through the initiative have included loans and grants to:

• Assist rural facilities in transitioning to electronic health records;
• Encourage electronic health information exchange; and
• Provide telehealth services.

The funding has helped various health care efforts, such as:

• Improving telehealth infrastructure for general care in California;
• Programs for at-risk children and elderly U.S. residents; and
• Specialty programs for individuals with bleeding disorders and hepatitis C in Oklahoma and Michigan (Bresnick, HealthIT Analytics, 5/6).

HHS and USDA have sought to connect rural providers to funding through the:

• Community Facilities grant and loan programs;
• Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program; and
• Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program.

In addition, federal officials through the initiative have held state-specific workshops that aim to bring federal and private partners together to determine how to help rural communities obtain health IT financing (“Health IT Buzz,” 5/4).

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