Senate bill would provide $20M in funding for behavioral health EHRs

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information would oversee the grants and would report – no later than two years after enactment and then annually – to Congress on “the number and type of behavioral health care providers that receive the grant, their ability to electronically exchange patient health information with other provider types and clinical and non-clinical outcomes for patients,” the statement said. ONC would work with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop voluntary behavioral health IT standards, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would join ONC and SAMHSA in developing joint guidance on how states can use Medicaid to promote adoption and interoperability among behavioral health providers.