SAMHSA Awards $4 M to Expand Care Coordination Through Health IT

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde today announced more than $4 million in new grants for Health Information Technology (HIT) service for communities across the nation. SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. Its mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities. The purpose of this program is to leverage technology to enhance and/or expand the capacity of substance abuse treatment providers to serve people who traditionally have been underserved because of lack of access to treatment in their immediate community. This lack of access can be due to transportation concerns, an inadequate number of substance abuse treatment providers in their community, and /or financial constraints.The use of HIT, including web-based services, smart phones, and behavioral health electronic applications (e-apps), will expand and/or enhance the ability of providers to effectively communicate with persons in treatment and to track and manage their health to ensure treatment and services are available where and when needed. Grantees will use technology that will support recovery and resiliency efforts and promote wellness.“One of the most important recent advances in medicine is the application of information technology to health care,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, in a statement. “It is important that the behavioral health field be part of these technological advances to reach people who need treatment with safe, high-quality care.”The six awardees will receive up to $840,000 for the three year projects. Continuations of these awards are subject to availability of funds and progress achieved by the awardees. The following is a list of the grant awardees and their grant amounts.