The Grant Programs from ONC

How do you spend $2 billion dollars wisely and quickly on Healthcare IT?

Here's ONC's complete grant funding plan

Regional extension centers (RECs) $643 million

Health Information Exchange $564 million

Workforce Training Programs $118 million

Beacon Communities $235 million

Strategic Health Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) $60 million

Nationwide Health Information Network/Standards and Certification $64.3 million (details are pending)

These are the major initiative but there are are other smaller contracts and projects, hence the total above is less than $2 billion.

Regional extension center and Health Information Exchange funding will be announced before the end of January.

Beacon Community applications are due February 1 and work will begin in March.

SHARP grants were due January 25.

The FOA for Nationwide Health Information Network/Standards and Certification will be issued soon.

I've agreed to be a project advisor to groups applying for every one of these grants.

I'm most directly involved in Beacon Communities submission for Greater Boston.

I'll post our Beacon Community plan on my blog as soon as I am able.

If any grant naming me as a collaborator or advisor is funded, I will post the details in the interest of full disclosure.

January 2010 has been one of the most intense months of my career - we got the IFR, the NPRM, HIT Standards Committee and Workgroup efforts, HITSP's finished deliverables, and nearly $2 billion in grant opportunities, all happening at the same time.

The secret is to limit your involvement in national, regional, and local Health IT projects so that you are maximally challenged, not overwhelmed. Best of luck to all who are applying.