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Federal Grants Help with Oregon Electronic Records

31 Oct

There is some good news for Oregon hospitals and health care providers who serve Medicaid patients: there are federal grants available to support their efforts in implementing electronic health records.

On September 26, 2011, Oregon hospitals and eligible health care providers became eligible for these new grants. Those health care providers eligible for the program can receive up to $63,750 over a period of six-years. There will be various factors that determine the value of the grants.

Oregon’s Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is administered by the Oregon Health Authority’s Office of Health Information Technology, and moving forward, is set to help with better care and lower costs on behalf of Oregonians.

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is a part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which encourages states to make the switch to electronic health records. It’s not only intended to help hospitals and healthcare providers make the switch to secure EHR systems, but empower doctors and patients to work together to manage their private and up-to-date health records, increasing efficiency, and avoid redundant procedures.

Healthcare providers can apply now. There are a number of qualifying points, but if you are a provider with less than 90 percent of your services provided in a hospital, you may qualify for the program. For more information on the criteria for qualifying, go to the Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentive Program website.