government
HHS announces more health innovation awards
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 25, 2012
Recipients of 81 awards given under the health system reform law will use the funds to design innovative projects aimed at delivering high-quality medical care, enhancing the health care work force and saving the system money, the Dept. of Health and Human Services announced June 15.
To date, HHS has awarded funding for 107 projects that intend to save the health care system an estimated $1.9 billion during the next three years. “Thanks to the health care law, we are giving people in local communities the resources they need to make our health care system stronger,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will administer the awards through cooperative agreements over a three-year period. Awards will be directed to urban and rural areas in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
One of the awards went to a project of the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, which is developing a new approach to identify and treat sepsis before it progresses.
Another recipient, Regional Emergency Medical Services in Nevada, along with other health care organizations, is establishing a new nonemergency phone number for “community health early intervention teams” that will help patients obtain fast and appropriate care, reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and lower total costs, according to HHS.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/06/25/gvbf0625.htm.
