Rural Health Information Technology (HIT) Grant Program - Year 7 Funding Period: January 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
Introduction
The Center for Rural Health, University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences is pleased to announce that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) will offer a seventh year of funding for their rural health grant program.
Vision
Keenly aware of the significant stress North Dakota rural areas face in providing for their local health needs, BCBSND seeks to support those communities who demonstrate an effective plan to successfully improve health care delivery to the rural population by utilizing HIT. The company desires to stimulate new thinking about what can be, as opposed to what has always been in the health delivery status quo. Financial support based on established criteria will be awarded to those applicants whose proposals benefit rural North Dakotans and their emerging health needs in a society and industry undergoing accelerated change.
Attributes of the BCBSND Rural HIT Grant Program The BCBSND seeks projects that demonstrate collaborative efforts involving rural health care facilities and whose measurable outcomes improve access, safety, quality, effectiveness and efficiency of health services to the population residing in rural North Dakota. As in past years, proposed grant programs must address the high priority health needs of a rural population through the planning and implementation of an HIT infrastructure.
Special consideration will be given to programs that:
Work collaboratively with other health care facilities (not owned by one entity) to achieve economies of scale.
Demonstrate a solid planning process for implementation and adoption of HIT.
Increase exchange of health information along the continuum of care.
Help patients transition between health care settings.
Reduce duplicative and unnecessary testing and services.
Impart best practices guidelines to providers and patients.
Develop and implement a program with an emphasis on rural pharmacy applications.
Since the delivery of health care services involves many disciplines and Since the delivery of health care services involves many disciplines and organizations, it is important to pursue a coordinated approach to the planning and adoption of health information technology that builds on existing networks and infrastructures. Networking among rural providers with provider systems from the tertiary centers (Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot) will be central to building more stable rural health care delivery systems and addressing some of the workforce supply issues challenging the rural areas.
Projects should place emphasis on the development of systems that improve the exchange of health information along the continuum of care. Such HIT systems can involve provider-to-provider relationships (e.g., rural/rural, rural/urban, hospital/hospital, clinic/clinic, hospital/clinic, hospital/pharmacy, hospital/clinic/pharmacy, etc.) and/or provider-to-patient (e.g., patient/provider communication, personal health care record, etc.). Those projects whose focus is the retainer of consultants, preservation of the status quo, acquisition of duplicative technology, addition of unnecessary capacity, reimbursement maximization or salary enhancement for particular individuals or entities will not be funded. Preference will be given to applicants with participating status with BCBSND.
Financial Award
BlueCross BlueShield of North Dakota will make funds available in the total amount of $400,000. The individual awards will be made on a competitive basis to successful applicant(s). It is anticipated that five to seven grants ranging from $40,000 to $65,000 will be awarded. The committee will consider grants of greater amount if an applicant is applying on behalf of a network of healthcare facilities, and the request will support the HIT infrastructure for the network. Preference will be given to applicants that propose to work collaboratively with healthcare facilities that are not all owned by one main organization.
For additional information please contact Lynette Dickson, MS, LRD, Project Director at ldickson@medicine.nodak.edu or (701) 777-6049.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, Rural Health Grant Program is administered through the Center for Rural Health (CRH) at the University of North Dakota, School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
