News
Massachusetts Launches Comprehensive Digital Health Initiative
January 7, 2016Source: The Official Website of the Governor of Massachusetts
BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and executives from the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP) joined leaders from across state government, healthcare, and the technology sector at Boston Children’s Hospital to announce a comprehensive public-private partnership designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the Commonwealth’s digital healthcare industry.
Learn MoreMassachusetts eHealth Institute doles out $1.3 million in EHR grants for behavioral health
January 4, 2016Source: Healthcare IT News
By Bernie Monegain
Grant supports facilities that are not eligible for reimbursement under the federal meaningful use electronic health records program.
Over $1.3 Million in Grants Awarded to Massachusetts Behavioral Health Providers for Technology Adoption Efforts
December 21, 2015Source: Massachusetts eHealth Institute
WESTBOROUGH, MA – December 21, 2015 – MeHI, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech, has awarded over $1.3 million in grants to 25 behavioral health providers to advance their use of health information technology, or Health IT, designed to improve patient care, reduce healthcare costs, and ensure appropriate privacy and security protection of behavioral health patient data. The awards were made as part of MeHI’s eQuality Incentive Program (eQIP), an initiative that provides grants for critical technology enhancements to both behavioral health and long-term/post-acute care organizations. The behavioral health grantees, selected in two funding rounds, manage a total of 179 facilities in 64 cities and towns across Massachusetts.
Learn MoreMeHI Awards Nearly $1 Million to Fifteen Long-Term Post-Acute Care
October 22, 2015Source: Massachusetts eHealth Institute
WESTBOROUGH, MA – October 22, 2015 – MeHI, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech, has announced the first round of long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) grantees from the eQuality Incentive Program (eQIP). MeHI awarded nearly $1 million in grants to 15 post-acute care organizations that oversee 44 facilities and 6,110 patient beds across Massachusetts. Under the eQIP program, MeHI’s funds will help these Massachusetts facilities invest in innovative health information technologies to improve patient care through enhanced care coordination and efficient care transitions. **Note as of Dec. 2015 there will be only 14 post-acute care organizations enrolled in the grant program.
Learn MoreUMass Memorial adds to growing client list of health records vendor
August 17, 2015Source: Worcester Business Journal
By: Christina P. O'Neill
UMass Memorial Health Care said in June that it would invest $700 million to upgrade its electronic health records (EHR) system to improve the accuracy and availability of patient data.
UMass Memorial CEO: $700 EHR investment will more than pay for itself
July 29, 2015Source: Central Mass Health Care / WBJ
By: Emily Micucci
Employees of UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) might have suffered a serious case of sticker shock when they learned about the $700 million cost to roll out a new electronic health record system and revamp the health care provider's IT infrastructure when CEO Dr. Eric Dickson unveiled those plans in a blog post last week.
For a system that has shed significant services and worked toward consolidating its footprint in Worcester over the last couple of years, the number seems like a lot to chew.
"It's a lot of money, no matter how you look at," Dickson said in an interview Tuesday.
But the administration already had the blessing of employees by the time Dickson said UMMHC would contract with Wisconsin-based health care software provider Epic to provide electronic health records services for the next 10 years.
Learn MoreHIMSS Analytics Names Massachusetts eHealth Institute Certified Educator of Ambulatory EMR Adoption Model
June 22, 2015Source: HIMSS Analytics
CHICAGO – June 22, 2015 – HIMSS Analytics announced today that MeHI, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute has been named a Certified Educator of the Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record Adoption ModelSM (A-EMRAM). MeHI is the first state agency to achieve HIMSS Analytics’ Certified Educator status.
Learn MoreDirect Messaging Finding Stride, Despite Hurdles
June 22, 2015Source: Healthcare IT News
By Mike Miliard
The 2015 Direct Messaging Survey published this week by HIMSS shows growing use and appreciation for the secure, email-like method of data exchange. But there are still challenges to be ironed out – related to technology standards, cost and workflow – before it sees broader acceptance.
Bold Initiative to Build Health Begins
June 9, 2015Source: Healthcare IT News
BUILD Health Challenge, an ambitious countrywide healthcare initiative aimed at boosting health across communities, today awarded grants to 18 groundbreaking projects to improve health in low-income areas. One of the awarded grantees is in Massachusetts, named the "Healthy Hill Initiative of Springfield, Massachusetts" which is led by HAPHousing, Springfield Department of Health and Human Services, Baystate Health System and Sisters of Providence Health System.
Learn MoreNew MeHI Grants Seek to Build ‘Connected Communities’ for Delivering Health Care
June 8, 2015Source: Massachusetts eHealth Institute
WESTBOROUGH, MA - June 8, 2015 - MeHI, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech, has launched a new grant program to strengthen the collaborative technology-based connections between healthcare settings in regions across the Commonwealth. The Connected Communities Implementation Grant Program solicits proposals from groups working together to use health information technology to tackle challenges to delivering coordinated healthcare within their community. The program is designed to increase the electronic exchange of health information and strengthen associated workflows in order to help local providers better address the transitions of care and care management needs within their communities, ultimately resulting in better coordination of patient care, improved patient outcomes, and a reduction in healthcare costs.
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