California offers $25 million in health IT grants
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week that $25 million in new grants for healthcare technology projects would be awarded to underserved parts of the state in order to expand access to specialty doctors. Projects eligible for funding could include technology improvements for safety net providers such as rural health clinics, critical access hospitals and county health departments. Other projects could include preventive healthcare or medical education programs.
“Expanding health information technology is a cornerstone of my comprehensive plan to reform our broken healthcare system,” Schwarzenegger said. “Using technology in healthcare not only expands access to underserved parts of California, but also increases patient safety and reduces overall healthcare costs.”
The grants will be made available through the competitive bid process. The application will soon be available on the California Department of Managed Health Care website at www.dmhc.ca.gov.
The funds are part of charitable investments required by the state from PacificCare Health Systems when it merged with UnitedHealth Group in 2005.
“Expanding health information technology is a cornerstone of my comprehensive plan to reform our broken healthcare system,” Schwarzenegger said. “Using technology in healthcare not only expands access to underserved parts of California, but also increases patient safety and reduces overall healthcare costs.”
The grants will be made available through the competitive bid process. The application will soon be available on the California Department of Managed Health Care website at www.dmhc.ca.gov.
The funds are part of charitable investments required by the state from PacificCare Health Systems when it merged with UnitedHealth Group in 2005.