HHS comprised roughly 40 percent of the federal government's health IT spending in 2017, according to a DelTek analysis reported by Federal Times.
Here are four things to know about health IT spending among federal agencies.
1. In 2017, federal agencies spent a combined $7.5 billion on health IT. HHS was the top agency in terms of health IT spending, followed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which represented 27 percent of federal health IT spending. The U.S. Department of Defense ranked No. 3 at 24 percent.
2. Federal health IT spending is expected to increase to $8.1 billion by 2023. HHS spending will curtail during this period, due to the completed deployment of the ACA's insurance marketplace, according to the report.
3. The VA is on track to lead federal health IT spending by 2023, comprising 40 percent of spending among federal agencies, which DelTek attributes to the deployment of is new EHR. The agency's EHR rollout is expected to begin in June 2019.
“Growth in the federal health IT market is due predominantly to investments at VA and [DOD] for new [EHRs] and the associated network and other infrastructure upgrades,” the report reads, noting the DOD's full deployment is slated for completion before 2023.
4. DelTek recommended contractors interested in working with federal agencies on health IT projects should "look for ancillary opportunities to support EHR implementation efforts at DOD and VA, such as solutions for interoperability with outside healthcare organizations, application development for use by doctors and/or patients that leverages EHR data, infrastructure upgrades, and solutions for functions that will not be provided by the new EHRs."
To access DelTek's report, click here.