David Blumenthal, M.D., Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS)
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced
plans to make available $60 million to support the development of
Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP). SHARP projects
will conduct focused research in critical areas where breakthrough
advances are needed to address existing barriers to the adoption and
meaningful use of health information technology (health IT). The SHARP
program identifies and works to address barriers to adoption in the
following four areas:
-
Security of Health Information Technology research to
address the challenges of developing security and risk mitigation
policies and the technologies necessary to build and preserve the
public trust as health IT systems become ubiquitous.
-
Patient-Centered Cognitive Support research to address the need
to harness the power of health IT in a patient-focused manner and
align the technology with the day-to-day practice of medicine to
support clinicians as they care for patients.
-
Health care Application and Network Platform Architectures
research to focus on the development of new and improved architectures
that are necessary to achieve electronic exchange and use of health
information in a secure, private, and accurate manner.
-
Secondary Use of Electronic Health Record Data research to
identify strategies to enhance the use of health IT in improving the
overall quality of health care, population health and clinical
research while protecting patient privacy.
Each project will identify and implement a research agenda addressing
the specific goals of the Health Information Technology for Economic and
Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and identify the barriers to adoption and
meaningful use of heath IT that will be addressed in their research
area. HHS expects to award qualified applicants cooperative agreements
to support research efforts in these four project areas. Each agreement
will last four years. Awardees will implement a collaborative,
interdisciplinary program of research addressing short-term and
long-term challenges in their focus area. Additionally, the projects are
expected to develop and implement a cooperative program between
researchers, health care providers, and other health IT sector
stakeholders to incorporate research results into health IT practice and
products.
Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and
part of the HITECH provisions of ARRA, the cooperative agreements are
part of a series of grants to help strengthen and support the use of
health information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of
care provided to all Americans.
“Innovative research and approaches are required to overcome some of the
foremost challenges we face in achieving our vision of a transformed
health care system enabled through health IT,” said Dr. Blumenthal. “The
SHARP program will bring together some of the best and brightest minds
in the nation to find breakthrough solutions and innovations that will
eliminate barriers to adoption and, over time, increase the meaningful
use of health IT to improve the health and care of all Americans.”
Applications are due on Jan. 25, 2010, with awards anticipated in March
2010.
Information about the SHARP program and the cooperative agreement
applications can be found at http://HealthIT.HHS.gov/
and at www.grants.gov.
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