Apr 3

Written by: Audacious Inquiry Team
Thursday, April 03, 2008 7:00 PM

Columbia, Md. (February 14, 2008) – Audacious Inquiry, LLC announced today that it will serve as the integration partner for a new initiative of the Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NOVARHIO) in Fairfax County.

The project received a grant of $150,000 through a program initiated by Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine last year to encourage innovation in health information technology. The project has also found matching funds that combined with the state’s award of $150,000 create total investment of more than $300,000. Audacious Inquiry played an important role in forging a broad partnership to secure the State of Virginia’s support.

“Governor Kaine’s award is an affirmation of our growing expertise in the area of health information exchange,” said Christopher Brandt, Audacious Inquiry’s managing partner. “We believe we are well positioned, as the leading management and technology consulting practice in this emerging growth area.”

NOVARHIO, in partnership with INOVA Health System and Erickson Retirement Communities, will be the first to create a mechanism to ensure electronic access to patient medication histories in Virginia emergency rooms. NOVARHIO also will simultaneously launch a program to educate citizens in northern Virginia about the need for a personal health record.

The proposal including Audacious Inquiry was one of two selected by Va.’s Health IT Council in a second round of applicants. In the first round last summer, out of 61 responses received, a proposal to replicate Audacious Inquiry’s successful integration of patient records systems at Erickson Communities’ Charlestown campus and St. Agnes Hospital placed fifth.

Audacious Inquiry’s other partners in the NOVARHIO initiative include:

• Erickson Retirement Communities’ Greenspring Village
  
• INOVA Health System
  
• GE Healthcare
  
• George Mason University
  
• Commonwealth Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation
  
• Arlington Free Clinic
  
• Arlington County Public Health Division
  
• NOVA ScriptsCentral Pharmacy
  
• Virginia Hospital Center
  

In the summer of 2006, Gov. Kaine created the Healthcare IT Advisory Council tasked with recommending investments to encourage the transition to electronic medical records.

“These modest health IT grants will improve our ability to deliver high quality health care to Virginians through the expansion of electronic health records,” said Gov. Kaine in a statement. “This investment continues efforts in the Commonwealth to help providers deliver best care to patients and expand our health IT infrastructure.”

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