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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer thinks healthcare information technology has a bright future and he also announced $1.25 million in grant for healthcare IT.

“The money is coming. The national debate has been engaged. And now is the time where our industry may be able to step up with some enabling factors and make an even bigger difference,” he said.

Microsoft has made healthcare a focus of its investments in recent years, especially with platforms such as Amalga and HealthVault. But Ballmer expressed frustration that more medical professionals haven’t embraced new technological opportunities as fully as they might. A lack of knowledge of what sorts of innovations are available, combined with a lack of resources and infrastructure for smaller providers to implement comprehensive new systems, has led to slow adoption of healthcare IT, he said.

To that end, Microsoft, along with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), announced new "Innovation through Technology" grants – in which the computing giant will donate $1 million in software and the HCA will give $250,000 in cash to Tennessee community agencies that focus on, among other areas, primary health.