The state’s health department will use $13.3 million in federal funding to help doctors connect remotely and better share data by upgrading medical technology, Arkansas officials announced Friday.
Arkansas received the funds as a result of U.S. Sen. John Boozman’s work on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026, according to a news release.
The funding will support the acquisition of clinical practice technology, remote patient health tools, telehealth hardware and software, and electronic medical record upgrades, and will also support enhancements to the Arkansas State Health Alliance for Record Exchange, the state’s official health information exchange.
The upgrades are focused on central and northwest Arkansas.
These tools will improve health care coordination for patients, eliminate duplicative testing, bolster partnerships between hospitals and community providers, and strengthen rural health care, the department said in the release.
“Arkansas is demonstrating how smart, coordinated investments in health data can improve care delivery, strengthen public health, and better serve communities across our state,” state Secretary of Health Renee Mallory said.
Boozman, who championed the funding as part of several Congressionally Directed Spending projects in Arkansas, said the funding will help strengthen health care access and efficiency across the state.
“This investment will help modernize and strengthen Arkansas’s healthcare infrastructure, which is key to making quality care accessible in every corner of the state,” Boozman said.
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