The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), has awarded a $41.9 million contract for 49 Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) to expand health information technology.
The contract will be awarded to Federally-funded health centers in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Each of the 1,183 health centers will receive between $520,000 and $2.73 million. The number of HCCNs grew from 70 percent to 86 percent of HRSA-funded healthcare facilities between 2016 and 2019.
“Investing in more advanced health IT will help put patients at the center and unleash the power of data, helping us get better value from the care delivered by health centers and delivering on President Trump’s vision for healthcare,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
According to the HHS website, HCCNs are health centers that are collaborating through operational and clinical practices to make technology use easier for both patients and providers, protect patient information, and improve data use.
“Improvements in information technology will enhance the patient and provider experience as health centers continue to deliver high quality primary care in underserved communities across the nation,” HRSA Administrator Dr. George Sigounas said.
