Last week, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced grant awards to help health care providers advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT). One million dollars was awarded to the Virgin Islands Department of Health to help facilitate a territory-wide Health Information Exchange (HIE). This award will enable the DOH to take a leadership role in achieving HIE in the territory, developing governance structures, technical services and capabilities, and policies required to support the infrastructure necessary to the meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by providers through information exchange.

Governor de Jongh welcomed the award announcement, saying:

"I extremely excited by this opportunity to participate on the front lines of our nation’s health care technology transformation, and pleased that the Department of Health is continuing to take a leadership role in that effort. These projects, along with the Broadband Initiative currently underway to provide robust, high-speed internet access capability across the territory, will help us establish a world-class health information environment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, to the benefit of the entire territory."

Establishment of a territory level HIE is a critical step towards the goal of a nation-wide interoperable, private and secure electronic health information system. The resulting ability of all providers in the Territory to exchange health records electronically will help modernize our health care system, improve its efficiency, and improve the quality of care for everyone in the Territory. This grant award will help develop the electronic infrastructure necessary to that goal. As a first step, the Department of Health is working to appoint a Territorial HIT Coordinator, a condition of the grant. This individual will serve as the lead on the HIE project, coordinating activities among the many stakeholders and providing overall guidance under the auspices of the DOH.

The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Dr. David Blumenthal, said of the grant:

“I applaud each awarded entity for its dedication to the mission of improving the quality of health care and for the leadership and guidance it will provide.” 

This grant complements the $231,786 grant announced on December 8, 2009 for development of a comprehensive territorial plan for HIT and establishment of an EHR incentive program for providers. It is also part of the HIT transformation underway in the territory that started with the award of $815,760 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the design, acquisition and implementation planning of a Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) last October 28.