California to build HIE with nearly $40 million

Of the more than $100 million that California will receive from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for healthcare, the California Health and Human Services Agency will use $38.8 million to build a statewide health information exchange (HIE).

The grant for HIE comes out to be approximately $1 per resident for the populous state, an amount many local industry leaders felt is insufficient to get the job done. "We're going to need significant funding to have ubiquitous health information exchange, to fulfill the vision of having information safely and securely reach all corners of the healthcare delivery system and individuals," said Jonah Frohlich, deputy secretary of Health Information Technology for CHHSA. Nonetheless, Frohlich said, "The grant gives us the foundation." The state has basic building blocks in communities across the state upon which to build the foundation, he said.