For more information, contact: David
Finney, Director of Communications
(301)
560-6999
davidf@audaciousinquiry.com
AUDACIOUS INQUIRY WORKS WITH MARYLAND’S
HEALTHCARE LEADERS IN HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE INITIATIVE, EFFORT WINS STATE
GRANT
Columbia,
Md. – Audacious Inquiry, an innovative management and
technology firm, announces its role in CRISP (Chesapeake Regional Information
System for our Patients), a non-profit joint venture to promote Health
Information Exchange (HIE) in the state of Maryland.
Maryland
Gov. Martin O’Malley announced this week that CRISP has won the support of the Maryland
Health Care Commission (MHCC) to plan for state-wide Health Information
Exchange. The joint venture will be
supported with $250,000 from the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC)
funded through the hospital rate setting system. It will develop recommendations on a broad
range of policies, principles, and designs for the secure exchange of patient
information across multiple provider settings.
Audacious
Inquiry is serving as strategy and project management partner to the
joint-venture's leadership.
“Our
team is thrilled to work with the Maryland Health Care Commission and all
healthcare stakeholders throughout Maryland to put innovative technology to
work for improving our patients’ care,” said John C. Erickson, Chairman and CEO
of Erickson Retirement Communities.
“CRISP is another stride towards establishing Maryland as a leader in
American healthcare—I applaud the leadership at our hospital partners and in
State government for their vision.”
Audacious
Inquiry has worked with Erickson over the last four years to assist in the
development of a Health Information Exchange strategy for statewide, and
ultimately national, application.
Audacious Inquiry also works with other clients in the healthcare
industry on HIE strategy and implementation.
“Our
growing core competency in this rapidly-evolving field sets us apart from other
top-tier management consulting firms,” said Scott Afzal, Audacious Inquiry’s
Director of Health Information Technology.
“In the coming years, this will be a high-growth area not just for AI
but for the healthcare industry nationwide.”
Benefits
of HIE the exchange include
improved turnaround times for retrieval of current patient data, reduction in
redundant or unnecessary paperwork, and minimization of adverse drug
interactions and allergies. Over time,
these benefit lead to improved outcomes and lower costs. CRISP will also seek to develop robust
framework for ensuring each participating patient’s privacy and security.
The
joint venture grew out of conversations in 2006 among the four principal
partner organizations about how to leverage technology to improve the quality
of care for Maryland patients. A number
of other stakeholders have agreed to participate in the CRISP initiative,
including:
Consulting
Partners
- Dynamed Solutions
- Ober|Kaler
Technology
Partners
- GE Healthcare
- Microsoft
- HealthUnity
Other
Participants
- The Summit Health Institute for Research and
Education, Inc.
- Baltimore Medical System
- The Shepherd’s Clinic
About Audacious Inquiry, LLC:
Audacious Inquiry (www.audaciousinquiry.com), an
innovative management consulting firm, works as a strategic partner to advance
the interests of important global businesses, non-government institutions, and
government entities. We work within client organizations to maximize the
positive outcomes and minimize the risks of marketing and
information-technology initiatives.
Our strategy development and project
management expertise ensures that each project is aligned with the client¹s
strategic goals. We offer a range of consulting services in four complementary
areas:
·
Management consulting,
·
Health information systems,
·
Web & analytical marketing, and
·
Software development.