New York offers $106M in RHIO grants

The New York State Department of Health is making $105.75 million in grant funds available for regional health information organizations (RHIOs) who submit applications about their healthcare IT needs.

The grants are authorized under the Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers (HEAL NY), which is an initiative that can invest up to $1 billion over four years for restructuring and reforming the state health delivery system.

This round is the fifth request for grants under the initiative, and seeks to build on the progress of $52.9 million in HEAL NY grants awarded in May 2006.

The fifth phase of grants aims to create a foundation for a health IT infrastructure and to ensure that health IT tools result in increased accountability for patient assessment and provider performance. The grants also seek to collect clinical data in a timely manner for reporting on health trends, clinical trials and other research.

Grant applications will be accepted until Nov. 19.

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