Capital Area RHIO
Chairperson-Brian McCardel, MD
In January 2005, the Alliance Board of Directors resolved to create a digital health information system to promote secure exchange of clinical patient information. Those programs are called Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO). The Alliance was a perfect platform for RHIO development because its member organizations were the stakeholders who would be needed to participate in and contribute to development. Once implemented, the RHIO will result in new medical information efficiencies and accuracy that will increase health care quality, promote patient safety and save system costs. With the Alliance Board oversight, work for the project has been divided among eight committees made up of organizational representatives and community physicians. The RHIO Development Process has been awarded over $2.1 million in grant funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as well as contributions from CAHA, Ingham Regional Medical Center, MSU and Sparrow Health System.
The Capital Area RHIO is now an independent organization, and the Alliance holds a board seat on the RHIO and the RHIO holds a board seat on the Alliance. The Alliance also continues to serve a management role for the RHIO and support the RHIO through different initiatives designed to facilitate issues like grant development and the RHIO’s community integration. The various committees of the Alliance support the RHIO through issues like professional development and performance improvement. RHIO Website
The Capital Area Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) has been a major initiative for the Capital Area Health Alliance since 2005, when the Alliance Board passed a resolution to create an organization to promote secure exchange of clinical patient information, across disparate organizations in the Clinton, Eaton and Ingham County medical region. Since inception of the Capital Area RHIO, the Alliance has contributed financially to RHIO work and obtained over $2.2 million in grant support for RHIO development from the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and from Medicaid matching funds with the support of Ingham Regional Medical Center, Michigan State University and Sparrow Health System.
The Alliance was a perfect platform for RHIO development because its member organizations were the stakeholders needed to make the RHIO work. The Alliance guided RHIO development through collaboration among physicians, employers, hospitals, health plans, public and mental health providers and state government, creating an enterprise that reflects community needs and is well positioned to meet federal and state government expectations for meaningful use of health information technology. Exchanging clinical data electronically is fundamental to eligibility for American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA) incentives for physicians and hospitals.
In January 2009, the Capital Area RHIO Board of Directors held its first meeting to incorporate, approve bylaws and elect officers, and sit as an independent organization from the Capital Area Health Alliance. The Alliance is currently providing management services for the RHIO and holds a seat on its board of directors. In reciprocation, the RHIO holds a seat on the Alliance Board.
Capital Area RHIO officers representing community physicians, the Ingham County Health Department, Michigan State University, the Michigan Department of Community Health and Sparrow Health System held a press conference on September 29, 2009 to publicly announce the initiative and its potential impact on health care quality, patient safety, efficiency, costs and public health. Currently, the Capital Area RHIO is working to connect the area’s data providers to prepare them to share information electronically, and will “go live” with physicians in early 2010.
Participants in the Capital Area RHIO will have access to multiple features and functions, designed to improve their efficiency and patient services, such as:
Clinical Messaging: A secure, web based clinical inbox to receive and act upon results/reports and communicate with other physicians.
Elysium EMR™ : For practices that do not have an electronic medical record, the relative low cost and ease of implementation of the Capital Area RHIO’s Elysium EMR™ makes it an attractive alternative. An ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), Elysium EMR™ enables electronic storage of and access to clinical information, including results and reports, and facilitates documentation of patient encounters. The Capital Area RHIO’s Elysium EMR™ can be integrated into practice workflow, with tools that make it possible to act on information in the clinical inbox, and to electronically share notes, instructions and the clinical information with practice staff.
ePrescribing: Through RHIO connection with SureScripts and Rx Hub, the Capital Area RHIO enables licensed prescribers to generate and send prescriptions electronically, while providing important alerts regarding potential medication interactions, allergies and drug formularies.
Integration with Existing EMR: The Capital Area RHIO will work with practices to enhance the capacity if existing EMRs, by direct interfaces. This means that results and reports will be integrated directly into patient records, that referrals and consultation reports can be sent from an EMR to other connected practices and that hospitals and other data providers can avoid the cost of building and maintaining interfaces.
Virtual Health Record: The Capital Area RHIO enables authorized individuals to query the system for clinical information about patients. Information about emergency department visits, hospital discharges, laboratory tests and radiology tests ordered by other physicians is accessible to help doctors and patients make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary, duplicative procedures.
Push vs. Pull Technology: Through the Capital Area RHIO, clinical results are pushed (sent directly) securely to the EMR or physician’s Elysium email inbox, eliminating the need to access multiple portals to look for results.
Local support and training: The Capital Area RHIO was developed by and for this community. Support and training resources will be based in the Lansing area to help users facilitate workflow continuity and optimal use of the system.
Privacy and Security: The Capital Area RHIO is committed to the privacy and security of protected health information and to assuring that our systems are compliant with federal and state laws and regulations regarding privacy and security. The RHIO system includes safeguards against unauthorized access and enables patients to opt out if they don’t wish to have their clinical information be accessible to participating providers.
The Capital Area Health Alliance was able to use its assets to create the Capital Area RHIO because so many aspects of Alliance work offer a platform for initiatives the RHIO will need to maintain to be successful. Thus, the Alliance will play a continuing role as the Capital Area RHIO grows. Alliance committees such as the Capital Area Community Nursing Network are preparing to use the RHIO as a symposium topic, and the
Performance Improvement Committee is preparing for opportunities to work with the RHIO on community wide issues. The Alliance will support the RHIO through community integration initiatives, grant and demonstration project opportunities, HIT workforce development, public health analysis, and healthy lifestyle initiatives. The Capital Area RHIO is a tremendous resource for the health community in the Capital Area and the Alliance is looking forward to facilitating collaboration that will enable the RHIO to realize its potential as a vital part of the area’s economic development and quality of life.
The Capital Area RHIO encourages you to learn more about this community’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) that will be available in early 2010. The RHIO’s primary focus is Health Information Exchange; however, the RHIO is also a community resource for Health Information Technology (HIT). At the RHIO website, there is a glossary of HIT-related terms, recordings of a series of webinars sponsored by PhysiciansEHR.com with information for practices considering an EMR, a video that physicians can use to introduce colleagues, staff and
patients to HIE, and links to other useful sites. For more information, please contact the RHIO at:
Website: CapitalAreaRHIO.org
E-mail: CapitalAreaRHIO@aol.com
Telephone: 517-347-3373
|
