Assessing Use of Health IT by U.S. Physicians Providing Outpatient Care | NAP AX 24 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for NAP AX 24 001

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is funding a single cooperative agreement to produce a clear, detailed national picture of how U.S. office-based physicians use health information technology in outpatient care, with a particular focus on interoperability. The project is meant to go beyond basic adoption counts and instead document how physicians actually use interoperable health IT in practice, what their day-to-day experiences are when working with these tools, and what effects health IT has on the care they deliver. In practical terms, the end product ONC is looking for is a high-quality set of data and findings that can be used to understand whether federal health IT policies are working as intended, where implementation is succeeding or falling short, and what real-world impacts clinicians are experiencing.

A central theme of the opportunity is interoperability, meaning the ability of systems to exchange data and make that data usable across organizations and settings. ONC is looking for measurement that can shed light on the extent to which office-based physicians can send, receive, find, and integrate electronic health information, and how these capabilities affect clinical workflows and patient care. The work is also designed to capture physicians experiences using health IT, including potential unintended consequences. One explicitly noted concern is clinician burden, such as added administrative workload, workflow friction, or other stressors that can arise when health IT is implemented or updated. At the same time, the measurement effort is intended to surface positive impacts as well, such as improved access to information, better coordination, and stronger clinical decision-making.

Another major purpose of the cooperative agreement is to identify disparities in adoption and use of interoperable health IT. ONC wants the data to help detect differences that may be linked to the populations physicians serve or the contexts in which they practice. That includes the possibility that certain patient communities, geographic areas, or practice types may have less access to interoperable capabilities or may face greater barriers to effective use. By producing detailed and credible measurements, the project is intended to inform ONCs broader policy and regulatory efforts aimed at achieving better health outcomes enabled by data, including coordination across the health system.

This opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, which typically indicates substantial federal involvement during the project period. In other words, the recipient should expect ongoing coordination with ONC and alignment with federal measurement priorities, definitions, and reporting needs. The recipient is also encouraged to make key findings widely accessible to the public, not just through required reporting to the government. Suggested dissemination channels include posting results on the recipients website, publishing in peer-reviewed biomedical journals, presenting at conferences, and sharing through webinars or blog posts. The emphasis on public dissemination signals that ONC wants the resulting evidence to be usable by policymakers, researchers, health systems, and the broader health IT community.

Key administrative details are straightforward. The opportunity title is "Assessing Use of Health IT by U.S. Physicians Providing Outpatient Care" (Funding Opportunity Number NAP AX 24 001). It falls under the Health activity category and lists CFDA number 93.851. ONC expects to make one award, with an award ceiling of $425,000. The original application closing date is July 22, 2024, and the opportunity was created on June 14, 2024. Eligibility is broad and includes domestic public and private entities across government, higher education, nonprofit, tribal, and for-profit categories. Specifically listed eligible applicants include county and city or township governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding IHEs in those categories), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses.

Taken together, this funding opportunity is essentially a targeted national measurement effort: one organization will be supported to collect and analyze detailed information on outpatient physicians use of interoperable health IT, the lived experience of using these systems, and the downstream effects on care delivery. ONC intends to use the results to evaluate the impact of federal health IT policies, identify gaps and inequities, watch for unintended burdens on clinicians, and guide ongoing efforts to improve health outcomes through better data sharing and coordination.

• The Office of the National Coordinator in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Assessing Use of Health IT by U.S. Physicians Providing Outpatient Care" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.851.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $425,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses.

Apply for NAP AX 24 001

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