Virginia is participating in a federal project that provides incentive money for doctors to use electronic health records.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt announced the state's involvement on Thursday. The national effort is aimed at improving patients' quality of care and reducing medical errors.

Governor Tim Kaine said at the news conference that building and improving the health information technology infrastructure is critical to providing quality health care.

The money is available to 100 small and medium-sized physician practices in Virginia who adopt the electronic medical records system, use it, and then report quality improvements in certain areas.

Officials expect the program to be cost neutral because the payouts are supposed to be covered by the savings in expected efficiencies.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com

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