Four grants of $1.5 million each were awarded by the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative this week as a means to spur the exchange of health data throughout the state. The four recipients--Philadelphia-based HealthShare of Southeastern PA, Inc.; Pittsburgh-based Highmark HIE, LLC; Allentown-based Lehigh Valley Hospital; and St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem--will use the funds to build up the technology that will allow doctors, nurses and other providers to connect with each other using a health information exchange. "Our goal is three-fold," Robert Torres, Pennsylvania's Health Information Technology coordinator, said in a statement. "[W]e want to build capacity for exchanging health information; increase connectivity and the flow of patient information; and facilitate the movement toward nationwide interoperability." Announcement