ONC adds $12M in EHR tech support to small hospitals

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is giving an additional $12.2 million to existing regional extension centers for them to provide more technical assistance to critical access and rural hospitals in their service area, to help them move from paper-based medical records to certified electronic health records (EHRs). These supplemental grant awards are available to 48 of the 62 existing regional health IT extension centers, targeted at increased support for staffing and expertise to provide hands-on assistance to the 1,782 critical access hospitals and rural hospitals with fewer than 50 beds. These additional staff will work in coordination with other extension center personnel, who will be supporting the primary care providers in the center’s service areas, according to a Dec. 20 ONC announcement. ONC said it expects to award the grants on Feb. 4.