The University of South Florida was awarded $5.9 million in stimulus funding to support its PaperFree Florida initiative, which proposes to make electronic prescribing available in the Tampa Bay area.
USF is one of 28 organizations around the country to be awarded a total of $267.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish health information technology regional extension centers.
Also included in the April 6 round of funding was Community Health Centers Alliance Inc., a HRSA recognized health center controlled network in St. Petersburg, which received $11 million.
CHCA plans to use the funding to provide education and technical services to doctors, predominantly in rural counties, to help them adjust to electronic health records, said Angela Strain, organizational and advancement director .
This is the second series of REC awards from HHS.
A first series Feb. 12 awarded a total of $375.2 million to 32 entities, including $8.5 million to Health Choice Network Inc. based in Doral.
RECs will offer technical assistance, guidance and information to support use of electronic health records, a release said.
The investments will foster the health information technology industry, which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs, including nurses, pharmacy techs, IT technicians and trainers, the release said.
