HHS announced April 21 the availability of $90 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support data-driven efforts to reduce health disparities.
The funding can be used for COVID-19 related activities, enhancing data collection, expanding staff training and improving health technology and are available to Health Resources and Services Administration health center program supported facilities.
The funds are part of a new program, Uniform Data System Patient-Level Submission (UDS+), which is designed to collect increased and more robust information on social determinants of health.
"[The] announcement will help health centers modernize their data tools to improve equitable access to care and continue to best meet the needs of the communities and patients they serve," HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson said in the news release.