Quest Diagnostics has launched a grant program that offers eligible medical practices subsidies of 85% off the retail price of its Care360 electronic health record (EHR), and said it will also pay 85% of the retail price for standard training and implementation.

Under the new Quest Diagnostics Grant program, physicians will receive the Care360 EHR along with practice management system (PMS) licenses, training, hosting, maintenance, and 24/7 support for less than $100 per month for one year. The retail price of Care360 EHR and Care360 PMS is currently between $400 and $450 per physician per month. The grants will be available throughout 2012 and the majority of calendar year 2013 (depending upon when physicians begin using the product).

"We anticipate this program will enhance our reputation as a leading provider of diagnostics and information services," Rohit Nayak, VP of physician technology solutions at MedPlus, a Quest Diagnostics company, told InformationWeek Healthcare.

Nayak noted that the grant program is available to any non-hospital owned physician practice, or a nurse practitioner with a practice. He also said there's no limit to the number of applicants for the Care360 EHR under the program, and once they've used it for the year they can continue with the Care360 EHR and PMS at the retail subscription rates or discontinue with no obligation.

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Quest Diagnostics joins a growing list of companies that have recently launched programs to help small physician practices adopt EHRs, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Humana, and the Capital District Physicians Health Plan.

Officials at Quest Diagnostics said physicians in New York and Missouri aren't eligible for the program and eligibility in New Jersey is limited in accordance with state law. The program is also not available to physician practices or nurse practitioners that already have an EHR.

The program expands on a similar regional grant program that Quest Diagnostics launched last year. "The program we just announced is national and the eligibility is more expansive, allowing us to reach more physicians and contribute to the national goal of EHR adoption," Nayak said.

Under the program, the grant represents a potential value of up to $9,400, officials at Quest Diagnostics said. Saving thousands of dollars to implement an EHR will help many physicians who operate their practices on limited budgets, Richard Mahoney, VP of healthcare information dolutions for Quest Diagnostics and president of MedPlus, said in a statement.

"Our national grant program means that for only 15% of the retail cost, eligible physicians can have a certified EHR that is up and running in approximately 45 days," Mahoney said.

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