Traditionally, infrastructure or technology improvements among health centers and hospitals are funded either through savings accumulated by the organization through third-party reimbursement and/or non-operating revenues, or through loan programs associated with service or scope expansions.  While these traditional sources should be explored and tapped for health IT, few CAHs, health centers and rural health clinics will have savings anywhere close to the cost of implementing a major EHR system.  Institutions that traditionally lend to healthcare providers may be reluctant to do so without a convincing business case.  Thus, organizations seeking funds will need to demonstrate that the investment will lead to greater revenue or generate savings through operating efficiencies.
 
For the implementation of health IT, additional funding is available through grants, incentives and loans through the Federal Government, State Governments and/or Foundations.  For rural providers, programs also exist to help establish telecom services and to provide discounted Internet service charges.      

Additional Resources:

• Overview of the Rural Health Care Program - USAC
• Rural Health Services Funding: A Resource Guide - USDA
• HRSA Funding Opportunities
• AHRQ Funding Announcements