USF Health Awarded $6 Million Stimulus Grant for Electronic Health Records

USF Health will help doctors in 20 Florida counties move towards electronic health records, thanks to a $6 million grant in federal stimulus funds. The project, PaperFree Florida, will help doctors transform how they care for patients - not only improving health care delivery, but also helping the Tampa Bay region's economy as well. USF is one of the first regional initiatives in the nation to invest recovery dollars in a whole new professional work force combining health and information technology. USF Health will use the grant to hire and train 100 "e-ambassadors" to visit doctors' offices in a 20-county area and help them use and adopt electronic health records, acting as a resource to make doctors' transition to modern records simpler.