Small, rural and safety-net hospitals across the U.S. are receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding and community grants to purchase and install Epic EHRs.
Digital transformation has been elusive for many hospitals without deep pockets to develop sophisticated IT infrastructures. Here are three examples of hospitals that are relying more on outside funding for their EHR purchases:
1. Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Md., received a $650,000 federal funding grant for an Epic EHR system to replace its current medical record system.
2. Washington County (Iowa) Hospital and Clinics is slated to receive a $753,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement Epic's EHR beginning in November.
3. Sinai Chicago received a $1 million grant from Michael Reese Health Trust to install Epic's EHR as its new medical record system.
Hospitals are also finding other ways to support EHR transitions. Greenbrae, Calif.-based MarinHealth Medical Center received a $20 million tax-exempt equipment note to finance and/or refinance costs incurred by replacing its current EHR system with Epic's EHR.