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Dive Brief:
- The Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) has awarded $1.3 million in grants to 25 behavior health providers to improve patient care, reduce costs, and ensure safety and privacy of patient health data. The grantees manage 179 facilities in 64 locations throughout the state.
- The grants are part of eQuality Incentive program that provides grants for sectors not eligible for reimbursement under meaningful use EHR program.
- Payments will be received when the providers reach specific milestones that show increasingly advanced use of health IT systems. The amount received will depend on the size of the organization and milestones reached, with maximum awards between $33,000 and $82,500.
Dive Insight:
Grant awardees include behavioral care facilities that provide direct care to patients with mental health issues or substance abuse issues, like Family Continuity, which has facilities in Central and Eastern Massachusetts.
Nina MacLean Robinson, contracts manager at Family Continuity, said in a press release, “This grant will help us implement an EHR, providing us with better clinical, financial, and operational oversight.”
MeHI made its first round of awards in April 2015 of $973,500 to 18 providers, followed by a second round in October to seven more providers in the amount of $363,000.
The organization says it will seek new funding sources this year to assist behavioral health facilities to implement new technologies in their daily work.
