The California Regional Health Information Organization (CalRHIO) has gotten a $1 million grant from health system Sutter Health as part of Sutter's efforts to spread its money around. In return for permission to issue nearly $1 billion in tax-free bonds, Sutter agreed to donate $8.5 million in technology grants to help rural hospitals connect their IT infrastructure, as well as supporting community clinics in northern California.
The money is a drop in the bucket for CalRHIO, which expects to spend $300 million to build its health information exchange (though it can't hurt, either). The group is currently looking for start-up funding in the neighborhood of $30 million. The nonprofit has chosen service vendors, and expects to build out the HIE's backbone over the next 18 months, then complete a statewide exchange within two to three years.
To find out more about CalRHIO's efforts:
- read this San Francisco Business Times piece
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