ONC has released a funding opportunity announcement designed to strengthen the health IT workforce and build on work done by the 17 Beacon Communities to innovate health care delivery with the goal of building a learning health system, as outlined in the recently posted Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap. These initiatives are part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts to achieve better care, smarter savings and healthier people.

$6.4 million will be available in new funding opportunities to continue to train the health IT workforce of tomorrow. An additional $1.7 million will also be available to support health IT innovations that improve population health at the community level. These funds will go to support programs that help clinicians, administrators, organizations, and communities continue to learn and grow on the path to interoperable health IT.

ONC encourages all eligible applicants to access both the Workforce Training Program (funding opportunity number: WF-WF-15-300) and Community Health Peer Learning Program (funding opportunity number: CLP-CL-15-001) funding opportunity announcements on healthIT.gov.

The Workforce Training Program will update training materials from the original Workforce Curriculum Development Program and train health care workers to use new health information technologies in a variety of settings: team-based care environment, long-term care facilities, patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, hospitals and clinics. In a nod to the progress that has been made in adoption of EHRs and, in an effort to help providers and practices adapt to the changing health care landscape, the workforce efforts will focus on four key topic areas:

• Population Health
• Care Coordination
• New Care Delivery and Payments Models
• Value Based Care

Read more here.