Coming Soon: Recovery Act Grants for Medical Informatics

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the ARRA, also known as the Stimulus Bill) allocates $51 billion to healthcare. Universities that want to establish and/or expand health informatics programs are entitled stimulus bill funds. But what’s available? Who qualifies? And how can universities take advantage of the funds?

We recently called the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to learn more. All they could tell us is funding will be available, but the details have yet to be confirmed and set in writing. We quickly learned we were not the first people to call; many others are wondering the same things as us.

While we can only speculate about when and how much will be available, one thing is for certain: there will only be so much to go around.

Here’s what you need to know and what you need to do to be prepared.

Who is Eligible?
There are two different grant programs described in the stimulus bill. The grants are for universities that wish to:

• Carry out a demonstration project to develop academic curricula integrating certified EHR technology in the clinical education of health professionals (section 3015), or;
• Establish or expand medical health informatics education programs (section 3016).

The grants will be available to the following institutions of higher education:

• A school of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy;
• Graduate programs in behavioral or mental health, or any other graduate health professions school;
• Graduate schools of nursing or physician assistant studies;
• A consortium of two or more schools described in the lines above;
• An institution with a graduate medical education program in medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, or physician assistance studies, and’
• Certification, undergraduate and masters degree programs for information technology.

Also among this group are universities that want to integrate EHRs into community-based clinical education. That is, clinical education in an outpatient setting at a community health center or Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

The application process and requirements for each grant are generally similar. Though there are a few provisions to be aware of. Let’s take a look at the first program.

Section 3015 - Demonstration Program to Integrate Information Technology into Clinical Education
Grants under this section will be awarded to universities that carry out a “demonstration project” to develop curriculum using electronic health records (EHRs). Funding will be provided by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and will cover up to 50 percent of costs.

To apply, universities will need to submit a plan that explains how they will integrate EHRs into their program. This must include details on how students will be instructed to use EHRs to reduce medical errors, increase access to prevention, reduce chronic diseases and improve quality of care. The plan must be accompanied by a formal application.

Grantees will also be required to provide data on the program’s effectiveness in improving patient safety, efficiency of care delivery, and in increasing the likelihood that graduates will use EHRs in the delivery of future health care.

Limitations and Provisions
Before applying, there are a few requirements to be mindful of. First off, grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and will be subject to peer review. Secondly, the EHR used in the demonstration project will need to meet certification standards set by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The National Coordinator is slated to have the standards finalized by January 2010.

Section 3016 – Information Technology Professionals in Health Care
Grants awarded under section 3016 will go to universities that want to establish or expand medical health informatics programs. Financial assistance will come from the Secretary of Health and Human Services – in consultation with the Director of the National Science Foundation – and will cover the following activities:

One thing to keep in mind, priority will be given to existing programs or programs designed to be finished in six months.

What Can Universities do to Prepare?
As we anxiously await details of the grants, there are key steps you should take to prepare to apply:

1. Register for electronic submission – Institutions are required to register with both Grants.gov and NIH eRA Commons before submitting an electronic application.
2. Do your homework – You should familiarize yourself with the grant application process by visiting Health & Human Services’ grants website.
3. Claim your originality – Make sure your program will be truly unique. By law, grants cannot be awarded to a project if it already exists and is being funded.
4. Be on the lookout – Details of the grants will be released on the HealthIT/Recovery page of the ONC website. You should check this page often for updates.
5. Sign up for Alerts – Monitor keywords like “medical informatics” and “recovery act grants” using Google Alerts. Every time your selected phrase appears on a website or in the news, Google will email you a notification. This might be the tool that gives you a one-up on other colleges competing for the grants!