The Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday disclosed that it will provide $80 million in grants to help develop and strengthen the health information technology workforce.
The grants will comprise $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs. Both programs will support the need for skilled health information technology professionals “who will enable the broad adoption and use of health IT throughout the United States,” the department said.
More details about the programs will be released in coming weeks. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorized the grants, which are the first in a series of programs to help strengthen and support the health IT workforce. A recent study found that healthcare information technology has not saved hospitals money.
To learn more, go to http://HealthIT.HHS.gov/HITECHgrants.
