The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services announced on Friday nearly $1 billion in grants to states for health IT training, regional extension centers and health information exchange.

Alongside the announcement of their awards, some states have announced the creation of a health IT office. Ill. Governor Pat Quinn signed an executive order to establish the Illinois Office of Health Information Technology, which will help develop and implement health IT initiatives.

If you’ve been reading the press across the country, a lot of states have big plans with their funding. Of course, all states have unique needs and all healthcare is local, but it’s worth repeating that communication and collaboration goes a long way. You don’t want to eat up precious funds to build an infrastructure or develop workflow processes that have been perfected in another state.

I don’t know if the regional extension centers are required to share best practices with one another or if HHS will serve as a clearinghouse or host a summit for learning and collaborating. Perhaps the National Governors Association, a public policy organization that has been heavily involved in healthcare reform and IT, will be the convener for lessons learned and best practices. Whatever shape it takes, there must be some way for states to get together.