Grants offered to develop health information pathways

Friday 29th February 2008

The Center for Community Health Leadership has announced the opening of its grant application process.

The organisation is sponsored by Misys Healthcare Systems to facilitate the development of health information pathways by building connected communities.

It invites professionals from physicians' practices, health information exchange organisations, hospitals and home health agencies interested in sharing clinical data for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes to submit proposals on behalf of their community.

The Center grant programme was launched in June 2006 to spearhead the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) at a local level, where health care is actually delivered. 

Medical organisations within the selected community will receive a grant of EHR software and services for community physicians, and will be given access to connectivity solutions from Misys to facilitate data exchange between area clinicians. Successful applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to sharing clinical data among community health organisations in an effort to decrease health care costs, increase practice efficiency and improve care delivery to its residents.

"Community connectivity capability without electronic data to share is akin to installing a state-of-the-art home theatre in your house but forgetting to turn on the cable," said Leigh Burchell, director of the Center for Community Health Leadership.

"By providing Misys's electronic health record software at zero cost, we in essence turn on the capability for physicians to share information with other regional organisations while also benefiting from workflow efficiencies within their own practice. Further, since high software costs are often the most critical deterrent for physicians interested in EHRs, Misys eliminates that barrier by making the software – the source of electronic data – available for grant recipients at a price they can afford."

The Center will ultimately distribute US$10 million in EHR software in an effort to advance the health care experience in the selected communities through broad scale EHR adoption.

The deadline to submit grant applications to the Center for Community Health Leadership is 15 April 2008. Applications will be reviewed for evidence of a clear community vision of health information exchange, and all grant applicants must be willing to track pre- and post-implementation data at a community and individual organisational level for the purposes of ROI case development.

Additionally, communities must be willing to work with the Center and members of the media to discuss the results of implementing the Misys EHR software. Any communities that have previously submitted an application but were not selected for a grant are encouraged to reapply.

To submit an application online, visit the Misys Center website

Center for Community Health Leadership

Misys