The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that it had awarded almost $55 million total toward virtual care at 29 centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The Optimizing Virtual Funding money is intended to be used for telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools and health information technology platforms, among other virtual care technologies.

"Virtual care has been a game-changer for patients, especially during the pandemic," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement.

"This funding will help health centers leverage the latest technology and innovations to expand access to quality primary care for underserved communities," he continued.

WHY IT MATTERS

According to a list published on the HRSA website, each community health center received between $1.4 million and $2 million, with an average award amount of $1,881,527.

The one-time grants are intended to support the health centers in developing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based strategies that optimize the use of virtual care to increase access and improve clinical quality for underserved communities and vulnerable populations.

The strategies could also be adapted and scaled across health centers nationwide, said HRSA.

According to HRSA, recipients will "actively participate in collaborative learning and evaluation activities with other OVC award recipients to provide data and progress updates of their funded projects.

"The OVC funding will also support health centers to systematically design, implement, and evaluate ways to optimize the use of virtual care into the future," the agency said.

The funding is intended to build on upwards of $7.3 billion that the American Rescue Plan allocated toward community health centers to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19, said HHS.

The majority of the awardees are located in Western states or on the East Coast, with a handful in the Midwest and two in the Southeast region. Two recipients are in Hawaii, and one is in Puerto Rico.

"Today’s awards will help ensure that new ways to deliver primary care are reaching the communities that need it most," said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND

The Biden administration has routinely signaled its support for telehealth via funding, with tens of millions of HHS dollars put toward family planning and pediatrics, along with tech support and broadband expansion.

The Federal Communications Commission has also been funding virtual care expansion at health systems since the Trump administration, with NYU Langone Health, Providence St. Joseph Health and Temple University Hospital just a few of the many recipients to benefit.

ON THE RECORD

"Our funding will help health centers continue to expand their virtual work while maintaining their vital in-person services in communities across the country," said HRSA's Johnson.  

Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Twitter: @kjercich
Email: kjercich@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.