The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act seeks to improve American health care delivery and patient care through an unprecedented investment in health information technology. The provisions of the HITECH Act are specifically designed to work together to provide the necessary assistance and technical support to providers, enable coordination and alignment within and among states, establish connectivity to the public health community in case of emergencies, and assure the workforce is properly trained and equipped to be meaningful users of EHRs. These programs, administered by the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), build the foundation for every American to benefit from an electronic health record, as part of a modernized, interconnected, and vastly improved system of care delivery.

Beacon Community Program

A grant program for communities to build and strengthen their health information technology (health IT) infrastructure and exchange capabilities. These communities will demonstrate the vision of a future where hospitals, clinicians, and patients are meaningful users of health IT, and together the community achieves measurable improvements in health care quality, safety, efficiency, and population health.

Consumer eHealth Program

Central to ONC’s mission is the goal of empowering Americans to improve their health and health care through health IT. Through this program, ONC is increasing individuals’ access to their own health information, helping families to take action and gain control over their health, and shifting attitudes to encourage consumers to become full partners in their care with the support of e-health tools.

State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program

A grant program to support States or State Designated Entities (SDEs) in establishing health information exchange (HIE) capability among healthcare providers and hospitals in their jurisdictions.

• Health Information Exchange Challenge Grant Program

  A grant program to encourage breakthrough innovations for health information exchange that can be leveraged widely to support nationwide health information exchange and interoperability.

Health Information Technology Extension Program

A grant program to establish Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers to offer technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices to support and accelerate health care providers' efforts to become meaningful users of Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program

A grant program to fund research focused on achieving breakthrough advances to address well-documented problems that have impeded adoption: 1) Security of Health Information Technology; 2) Patient-Centered Cognitive Support; 3) Healthcare Application and Network Platform Architectures; and, 4) Secondary Use of EHR Data.

Workforce Development Program

As the nation moves toward a more technologically advanced health care system, health care providers increasingly need highly skilled health IT experts to support them in the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records. To help address this growing demand, ONC has funded the Health IT Workforce Development Program. The goal is to train a new workforce of health IT professionals who will be ready to help providers implement electronic health records to improve health care quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

• Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals Program

  A grant program that seeks to rapidly create health IT education and training programs at Community Colleges or expand existing programs. Community Colleges funded under this initiative will establish intensive, non-degree training programs that can be completed in six months or less. This is one component of the Health IT Workforce Program.

• Curriculum Development Centers Program

  A grant program to provide $10 million in grants to institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) to support health information technology (health IT) curriculum development. This is one component of the Health IT Workforce Program.

• Program of Assistance for University-Based Training

  A grant program to rapidly increase the availability of individuals qualified to serve in specific health information technology professional roles requiring university-level training. This is one component of the Health IT Workforce Program.

• Competency Examination for Individuals Completing Non-Degree Training Program

  A grant program to provide $6 million in grants to an institution of higher education (or consortia thereof) to support the development and initial administration of a set of health IT competency examinations. This is one component of the Health IT Workforce Program.