Audacious Inquiry, LLC

Northern Virginia RHIO Launches MEDS-ED Pilot

Evan Carter — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:03:15 GMT

On Monday, August 23, the Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NoVaRHIO) officially launched its MEDS-ED pilot project at the Inova Alexandria Hospital. The goal of this two year pilot is to provide the Inova Alexandria Emergency Department physicians with patients’ medication histories, after their approval, to help in diagnosis and treatment.

CMS and ONC Final Regulations Define ‘Meaningful Use’

Deborah Kephart — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:21:25 GMT

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced on July 13, 2010 the final rules to implement the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Read more for details on the final ruling.

Maryland First to Receive Federal Approval for State Health IT Plan

Kristen Bova — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:55:33 GMT

Maryland is one of the first three states to receive approval from the federal government on its State Health IT Plan.

Health IT Industry Energized

Kristen Bova — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:37:49 GMT

For the past year, the health IT industry has been energized by the prospect of more than $30 billion being poured into health IT projects from money allocated in the HITECH sections of the stimulus bill. Following more than a year of committee discussions, rulemaking, and clarifications around the bill, the industry is beginning to reap the benefits as awards are being made by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

Maryland Receives $9.3 Million in Health Information Exchange Funding

David Finney — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:13:32 GMT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) made its second and final tranche of statewide health information exchange (HIE) grants today, which included a grant to Maryland.

Maryland Hospital Association Health IT Executive Forum

Megan Wright — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:44:39 GMT

Last Thursday, the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) hosted its first Health IT Executive Forum focusing on Federal and State Health IT Initiatives and Principles for Progressing in a Health IT-enabled Future in Maryland at its headquarters in Elkridge, Maryland.

An EMR Trainer's Perspective

Kristen Bova — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:53:09 GMT

An EMR trainer's perspective on clinicians' acceptance of EMRs.

Media coverage of HIE in Maryland

David Finney — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:58:59 GMT

With the flurry of activity taking place both in Maryland and throughout the nation to implement electronic health records and make them interoperable via health information exchanges, the topic has received an increased amount of media attention.

Audacious at the DC CHUG Conference

Aamer Ahmed — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:29:28 GMT

Deliberations from the GE Centricity EMR technology conference

$10 Million in Funding Awarded for Health Information Exchange

Megan Wright — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:13:12 GMT

On Wednesday, Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC), the state entity that determines reimbursement rates for hospitals, awarded $10 million in startup funding to Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) to build and operate a statewide health information exchange.

Maryland, DC, Virginia a Hot Bed for Health Information Exchange

Kristen Bova — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:24:08 GMT

The Maryland/DC/Virginia region is quickly becoming a hotbed for health information exchange (HIE).

AI Shows Support for HB706

Kristen Bova — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:47:17 GMT

On Tuesday, AI team members Scott Afzal, David Finney, and Christopher Brandt showed their support as Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law Maryland House Bill 706.

The Bigger Picture in Health IT

Kristen Bova — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:31:30 GMT

Since the stimulus bill was signed into law in February of this year, in effect mandating incentives and penalties for health care providers tied to the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs), there has been an explosion of rhetoric around EHRs. Though EHRs are certainly a topic of concern for all providers, it appears two other important initiatives have been overshadowed by the debate.

Governor Martin O'Malley Signs House Bill 706

Kristen Bova — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:43:26 GMT

On Tuesday, May 19th, the Maryland state legislature took a big step forward in encouraging the adoption of health IT among the state’s providers. Following passage by the state Senate and House, Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law House Bill 706 (HB706).

Health Reform in Long Term Care

Kristen Bova — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:05:06 GMT

Last Thursday, I attended a conference in Washington, D.C. that focused on health reform in long term care. As I listened to the impassioned speakers, each with broad ranging ideas for health reform, they all seemed to have one goal in common: to ensure long term care is given the attention it deserves and is not pushed aside amid the larger debate about health reform.

CRISP Website Relaunched, Traffic Rises

David Finney — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:14:17 GMT

AI has relaunched the website of CRISP, the collaborative health information exchange planning group comprised of Erickson Retirement Communities, Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health, and the University of Maryland Medical System. As HIE activities move forward in Maryland, the website will serve as an informational resource for consumers and healthcare institutions alike. The site was developed using the DotNetNuke open source content management framework. Over the last several weeks, with the increased prominence of health IT generally and CRISP specifically -- for instance, CRISP leaders David Horrocks and Mark Kelemen were recently interviewed on Baltimore's WYPR public radio -- traffic to the CRISP website has risen dramatically.

An Overview of Medicare and Medicaid Incentives and Penalties in the Stimulus Bill for Physicians

Kristen Bova — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:18:56 GMT

AI's PowerPoint presentation offers an overview of Medicare and Medicaid incentives and penalties in the stimulus bill for physicians.

EMR Project Featured in Sun Article on HIT, Stimulus

David Finney — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:31:20 GMT

Matthew Hay Brown published a long article on President Obama's health information technology agenda in this morning's Baltimore Sun. The article provides a good overview of the stimulus, the challenges of driving EHR adoption, and the broad debate about HIT interoperability.

New Survey Finds Health Information Technology Adoption Increasing, Physician Satisfaction Isn't

Kristen Bova — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:47:09 GMT

A recent member survey by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) examines the adoption of health information technology (HIT) from 2004 to 2009. Overall, the survey finds that adoption of HIT has increased over the past five years.

AI to Receive CATS II Master Contract from State of Maryland

David Finney — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:24:54 GMT

Maryland's Department of Information Technology has recommended that Audacious Inquiry receive a Master Contract award through its Consulting & Technical Services (CATS) II contracting vehicle.

Platforms, One More Technology Standard to Keep in Mind when Selecting an EHR System

Aamer Ahmed — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:24:49 GMT

Know more about EHR systems before you select one for your clinic.

AI Team Member Shares Company Vision for Capitalizing on a Stimulated Economy

Kristen Bova — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:38:57 GMT

Following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being signed into law on February 17th, many healthcare technology firms are identifying opportunities to capitalize on the funds allocated to health IT.

Looking at EHR Systems for your Clinic? There are Some Standards to Keep in Mind

Aamer Ahmed — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:55:20 GMT

Know more about EHR systems before you pick one for your clinic.

Media Coverage of the CRISP HIE Report

David Finney — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:15:31 GMT

A number of media outlets are running coverage on the CRISP plan for Maryland health information exchange. We have linked to them here.

Reflections on the CRISP Planning Process

Scott Afzal — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:29:17 GMT

As the CRISP statewide health information exchange (HIE) planning project comes to a conclusion, the planning team celebrates great success and the delivery of one of the most comprehensive reports on the subject of HIE.