Fact Sheet

State and Regional Demonstrations in Health Information Technology: Transforming Healthcare Quality Through Health Information Technology (THQIT)


In October 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded $139 million in contracts and grants to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) through the development of networks for sharing clinical data as well as projects for planning, implementing, and demonstrating the value of HIT. The goals of these research projects are to:

Introduction / Projects Funded by State / For More Information


Introduction

In its report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified HIT as one of the most significant tools that could help improve healthcare quality. Further, the IOM, the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, and the President's Information Technology (IT) Advisory Committee also have recommended the development of a National Health Information Infrastructure to help improve safety, reduce costs, and enhance the quality of healthcare. In July 2004, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a Framework for Strategic Action, "The Decade of Health Information Technology: Delivering Consumer-centric and Information-rich Health Care." The goals of this 10-year plan are to transform the delivery of health care by building a new health information infrastructure, including electronic health records (EHRs) and a new network to link health records nationwide.

AHRQ awarded 5 State or State-based contracts totaling $25 million over 5 years to develop Statewide networks allowing major purchasers of health care, public and private payers, hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, home health care providers, and long-term care providers to use HIT to communicate and share information. The 5 States are Colorado, Indiana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Utah. Similarly, AHRQ awarded over 100 grants totaling $96 million in 38 States to help communities, hospitals, providers, and health care systems plan, implement and demonstrate the value of HIT. The planning grants will support the development of the HIT infrastructure and data sharing capacity among clinical provider organizations in their communities and help those communities compete for future implementation grants. The implementation grants will support community-wide HIT, with emphasis on diverse and rural health care settings. The grants to demonstrate the value of HIT will focus on how the adoption and use of HIT can improve patient safety and quality of care.

Research resulting from these contracts and grants should provide important information to the health care system on how HIT can be successfully implemented as well as estimate the direct and indirect costs, identify the benefits and barriers to HIT adoption, and demonstrate how HIT can lead to safer and better health for all Americans.

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Projects Funded by State

Alaska (total funding over 3 years: $138,344)

Central Kenai Peninsula Health Collaborative Technology
Description: Assesses current technology resources and plans implementation of area-wide electronic communications and connectivity to electronic health records and a patient-support Web-based data system.
Year 1 Funding: $138,344 (Estimated total funding: $138,344)
Principal Investigator: Edward Burke, Central Peninsula General Hospital, Inc., Soldotna, AK
Grant No.: P20 HS14902 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Arkansas (total funding over 3 years: $1.46M)

Arkansas Delta Inpatient/Outpatient Quality Improvement
Description: Implements a computer decision-support system in a 23-county service area in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including several rural clinics; includes a training component for physicians and other health care providers as well as a hospital pharmacy component for adverse drug event management and prevention strategies.
Year 1 Funding: $496.947 (Estimated total funding: $1,465,539)
Principal Investigator: Cinda Bates, St. Bernards Medical Center, Jonesboro, AR
Grant No.: UC1 HS15059 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

California (total funding over 3 years: $6.2M)

El Dorado County Safety Net Technology Project
Description: Develops a comprehensive plan for HIT implementation and integration by assessing specific clinical and organizational needs, feasibility of HIT implementation, defining project parameters, developing the implementation plan, and specifying procedures for ongoing evaluation and feedback.
Year 1 Funding: $185,972 (Estimated total funding: $185,972)
Principal Investigator: Neda West, Marshall Medical, Placerville, CA
Grant No.: P20 HS14908 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Crossing the Quality Chasm in Eastern Rural County
Description: Develops a regional collaborative and business plan for implementing HIT in a rural region; also conducts a telemedicine demonstration project to assess the barriers and issues of broad HIT intervention including telemedicine/teleradiology, scan/store medical record, chronic disease registry and personal health record, and linking the region's partners.
Year 1 Funding: $199,145 (Estimated total funding: $199,145)
Principal Investigator: Kiki Nocella, Tehachapi Hospital, Tehachapi, CA
Grant No.: P20 HS15342 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

IT Systems for Rural Indian Clinic Health Care
Description: Integrates health services research, clinic redesign, and electronic practice management through the implementation of electronic health records and clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) by partnering with three rural Tribal Health Programs to implement electronic health records with clinical decision support systems.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1.5M)
Principal Investigator: Susan Dahl, California Rural Indian Health Board, Sacramento, CA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15339 (9/20/2004-8/31/2007)

Tulare District Hospital Rural Health EMR Consortium
Description: Builds on an existing infrastructure to construct a fully integrated EMR to give clinicians real-time access to patient data through pharmacy management, laboratory management, patient scheduling, barcoding, clinical physician order entry, electronic signature, insurance eligibility, and Pyxis medication-dispensing units at nursing stations.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1.5M)
Principal Investigator: Paul Galloway, Healthcare Management Systems, Tulare, CA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15096 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Santa Cruz County, CA Diabetes Mellitus Registry
Description: Expands an established Web-based, interactive Diabetes Mellitus Registry that provides patient histories and needed tests at the point of care among public, private, and not-for-profit health care providers; also tracks the diabetes population to identify trends in key indicators of care.
Year 1 Funding: $496,875 (Estimated total funding: $1,352,725)
Principal Investigator: F. Wells Shoemaker, Pajaro Valley Community Health, Watsonville, CA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15362 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Impact of Health Information Technology on Clinical Care
Description: Evaluates the effects of staggered installation of an Epic HIT system that includes an electronic medical record (EMR) with provider order entry and clinical decision support in primary care settings on quality, safety, and resource use within a large integrated delivery system on cohort of 780,000 members with chronic illnesses.
Year 1 Funding: $499,970 (Estimated total funding: $1,487,606)
Principal Investigator: John Hsu, Kaiser Foundation Research, Oakland, CA
Grant No.: R01 HS15280 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Colorado (total funding over 5 years: $5M)

Colorado Connecting Communities—Health Information Collaborative (C3-HIC)
Description: Contract that implements Statewide information and communications technologies to enable clinicians to access patient information from other clinical data repositories at the point of care.
Year 1 Funding: $999,491 (Estimated total funding: $5.0M)
Project Director: Arthur J. Davidson, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO
Contract No.: 290-04-0014 (9/30/2004-9/29/2009)

Connecticut (total funding over 3 years: $2.66M)

Electronic Records to Improve Care for Children
Description: Implements and evaluates a community-wide EHR for health care providers in pediatric primary care, school health, specialty care, and emergency medicine who provide care for inner city children with asthma.
Year 1 Funding: $464,329 (Estimated total funding: $1,183,278)
Principal Investigator: Richard Shiffman, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Grant No.: UC1 HS15420 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Web-based Renal Transplant Patient Medication System
Description: Develops and evaluates Web-enabled education tools in hospitals and homes for renal transplant patients to reduce medication errors and improve safety and compliance using wireless portable computers.
Year 1 Funding: $496,879 (Estimated total funding: $1,474,873)
Principal Investigator: Amy Freidman, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Grant No.: R01 HS15038 (9/01/2004-7/31/2007)

Florida (total funding over 1 year: $349,069)

HIT for Medication Safety in Critical Access Hospitals
Description: Develops an implementation plan for pharmacy health information systems in critical access hospitals to include an onsite survey of HIT, flowcharting the medication use system, and an assessment of resources.
Year 1 Funding: $147,831 (Estimated total funding: $147,831)
Principal Investigator: Abraham Hartzema, Doctor's Memorial Hospital, Bonifay, FL
Grant No.: P20 HS15325 (9/30/2004-09/29/2005)

Promoting Patient Safety with Web-based Patient Profiles
Description: Explores the feasibility of a community-wide strategic implementation plan for Web-based standardized patient care to provide point-of-care access to patient information across acute and long-term care systems and services.
Year 1 Funding: $198,238 (Estimated total funding: $198,238)
Principal Investigator: Rosemary Laird, Health First, Inc., Cocoa Beach, FL
Grant No.: P20 HS14885 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Georgia (total funding over 3 years: $1.5M)

Comprehensive IT Solution for Quality and Patient Safety
Description: Implements a series of new health information technologies in carefully staged processes over 2 years to include an Inpatient Pharmacy System, Electronic Medication Administration Record, Bar Coding System, and a CPOE System; evaluates the impact of these systems on safety, quality and efficiency.
Year 1 Funding: 499,208 (Estimated total funding: $1,495,572)
Principal Investigator: Ann Beach, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15236 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Hawaii (total funding over 3 years: $1.67M)

Holomua Project-Improving Patient Hand-Offs in Hawaii
Description: Develops approaches to share data on patient clinical and diagnostic information across systems and creates an implementation plan for systems integration.
Year 1 Funding: $176,500 (Estimated total funding: $176,500)
Principal Investigator: Christine M. Sakuda, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Honolulu, HI
Grant No.: P20 HS15248 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Quality Focused Connectivity
Description: Implements an HIE to the three rural islands of the State of Hawaii: Maui, Kauai, and the island of Hawaii that focuses on preventive health care providing an opportunity for care to be addressed in a comprehensive manner so that the responsibility of health improvement shifts from the current physician focus on illness to a patient-centered focus on wellness.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1.5M)
Principal Investigator: Daniel Heslinga, Quality Healthcare Alliance, Honolulu, HI
Grant No.: UC1 HS15003 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Idaho (total funding over 3 years: $1.1M)

Rural Connection: Strengthening Care Through Technology
Description: Explores HIT as a method of sharing patient information and develops an electronic health record for patients who utilize rural, urban, acute, and rehabilitation facilities.
Year 1 Funding: $179,198 (Estimated total funding: $179,198)
Principal Investigator: Anne Oglevie, Weiser Memorial Hospital, Weiser, ID
Grant No.: P20 HS14883 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Rural Community Partnerships—EMR Implementation Project
Description: Implements an ambulatory EMR in multiple rural primary and specialist care provider settings and measures the impact of health information technology on clinical practice, organizational structure, and financial benefits; integrates ambulatory electronic medical record case scenarios into the curricula of the Health Science and Human Services Department to ensure that future healthcare providers have adequate training and exposure to ambulatory EMR technology.
Year 1 Funding: $403,272 (Estimated total funding: $924,216)
Principal Investigator: R'Nee Mullen, Magic Valley Memorial Hospital, Twin Falls, ID
Grant No.: UC1 HS15302 (9/20/2004-8/31/2007)

Illinois (total funding over 3 years: $4.6M)

Linking Rural Providers to Improve Patient Care and Health
Description: Develops a central electronic health record system that will allow sharing of health information between a hospital, medical group, county health department, and behavioral health organization for rural economically disadvantaged, ethnic/racial minority residents, the elderly, and persons with special/complex health care needs.
Year 1 Funding: $199,053 (Estimated total funding: $199,053)
Principal Investigator: Timothy Broos, Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, Dixon, IL
Grant No.: P20 HS15023 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Sharing Patient Record Access in Rural Health Settings
Description: Develops an implementation plan for an ambulatory EMR in a medically underserved region that will electronically connect physician offices, the regional hospital, ancillary services, and other community health services; identifies indicators to track measurable improvements in patient safety, quality of care, clinician and patient satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Year 1 Funding: $175,173 (Estimated total funding: $175,173)
Principal Investigator: Michael DeLuca, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon, IL
Grant No.: P20 HS15113 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Enhancing Quality in Patient Care (EQUIP) Project
Description: Implements an electronic health records system in a network of community health centers and develops a data warehouse to monitor, aggregate, and provide data for quality improvement.
Year 1 Funding: $499,946 (Estimated total funding: $1,499,132)
Principal Investigator: Alex Lippitt, Erie Family Health Center, Chicago, IL
Grant No.: UC1 HS15354 (9/30/2004-8/31/2007)

Toward an Optimal Patient Safety Information System
Description: Promotes and evaluates the interchange of patient safety information and the reporting of adverse events and close calls among public and private voluntary incident reporting systems being used at U.S. hospitals.
Year 1 Funding: $499,585 (Estimated total funding: $1,498,434)
Principal Investigator: Andrew Chang, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Oakbrook Terrace, IL
Grant No.: R01 HS15164 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Value of Technology to Transfer Discharge Information
Description: Assesses the value of software applications to facilitate information transfer during the high-risk transition from hospital to home at discharge and compares health information technology to usual care for benefits outcomes, adverse events, effectiveness, costs, and satisfaction among patients and physicians.
Year 1 Funding: $497,908 (Estimated total funding: $1,263,634)
Principal Investigator: James Graumlich, Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Grant No.: R01 HS15084 (9/01/2004-8/31/2007)

Indiana (total funding over 5 years: $9.3M)

An Evolving Statewide Indiana Information Infrastructure
Description: Contract that develops and implements HIE using an established technical infrastructure and interconnects local health information infrastructures; also implements a State-wide public health surveillance network that links all hospitals to share emergency department data
Year 1 Funding: $994,181 (Estimated total funding: $5.0M)
Project Director: Marc Overhage, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Contract No.: 290-04-0015 (9/30/2004-9/29/2009)

Improving Health Care through HIT in Morgan County, IN
Description: Creates a secure infrastructure for communication among providers to allow electronic sharing of patient clinical information with hospitals and other physicians/health providers in the county, region, and State; also assesses the effectiveness of the system in improving workflow, timeliness and completeness of information, patient safety, continuity of care, and health outcomes.
Year 1 Funding: $498,709 (Estimated total funding: $1,489,942)
Principal Investigator: Paul Clippinger, Morgan Hospital and Medical Center, Martinsville, IN
Grant No.: UC1 HS15258 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Value of Health Information Exchange (HIE) in Ambulatory Care
Description: Assesses the value of HIE in ambulatory care by modifying an existing economic model of HIE and tests the model in a randomized controlled trial.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1,499,662)
Principal Investigator: Marc Overhage, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Grant No.: R01 HS15409 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Value of New Drug Labeling Knowledge for e-Prescribing
Description: Creates a prescribing tool with decision support (checking dosage, contraindications, and drug interactions) that can be easily integrated into a provider's practices; implements and pilot tests the tool to evaluate its benefits and costs.
Year 1 Funding: $471,883 (Estimated total funding: $1,356,108)
Principal Investigator: Gunther Schadow, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Grant No.: R01 HS15377 (9/08/2004-8/31/2007)

Iowa (total funding over 3 years: $3.0M)

EMR Planning to Improve North Iowa Health Care
Description: Designs a system-wide patient-centered planning process and an EHR implementation plan that will securely exchange patient information within and across diverse healthcare settings for the Hancock County Memorial Hospital and 21 affiliated physician health organization clinics.
Year 1 Funding: $199,976 (Estimated total funding: $199,976)
Principal Investigator: Toni Ebeling, Hancock County Health Services, Britt, IA
Grant No.: P20 HS15396 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Rural Iowa Redesign of Care Delivery with EHR Functions
Description: Implements a comprehensive, integrated, EHR system with CPOE and clinical decision-support tools in hospital inpatient units, ambulatory care, primary care and specialty clinics, home health, and hospice care; also evaluates medical errors and near misses, use of evidence-based practices, responsiveness to adverse drug alerts, and patient/provider satisfaction.
Year 1 Funding: $499,996 (Estimated total funding: $1,499,869)
Principal Investigator: Donald Crandall, Mercy Medical Center—North Iowa, Mason City, IA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15196 (9/30/2004-8/31/2007)

Health Information Technology Value in Rural Hospitals
Description: Documents the patient safety and healthcare quality challenges in critical access to rural hospitals, and assesses HIT capacity in these rural hospitals and how they would use HIT to improve safety and quality; develops a decision-making HIT toolkits for other rural hospitals.
Year 1 Funding: $478,751 (Estimated total funding: $1,304,478)
Principal Investigator: Marcia Ward, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Grant No.: R01 HS15009 (9/01/2004-8/31/2007)

Kentucky (total funding over 3 years: $3.0M)

Meeting Information Needs of Referrals Electronically
Description: Identifies essential technological needs for accessing and sharing data and information between patients and health care providers; develops an implementation plan to expand the transmission of referral information electronically in a closed health system to an open system.
Year 1 Funding: $197,528 (Estimated total funding: $197,528)
Principal Investigator: Carol Ireson, University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, KY
Grant No.: P20 HS15208 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Connecting Healthcare in Central Appalachia
Description: Implements and trains staff on the use of an EMR system in a rural integrated health care delivery system in an integrated rural healthcare delivery system serving approximately 20 counties throughout Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1.5M)
Principal Investigator: Polly Bentley, Appalachian Regional Health, Hazard, KY
Grant No.: UC1 HS15182 (9/30/2004-8/31/2007)

ED Information Systems—Kentucky & Indiana Hospitals
Description: Implements and trains users of a Web-based electronic record system in the emergency departments of two small community hospitals, one medium-sized community hospital, one rural hospital, and three private primary care physician practices; evaluates the reduction in medical errors, waiting time, and costs as well as patient and physician satisfaction.
Year 1 Funding: $445,926 (Estimated total funding: $1,302,554)
Principal Investigator: David Pecoraro, Jewish Hospital Health Care, Louisville, KY
Grant No.: UC1 HS14897 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Louisiana (total funding over 3 years: $1.7M)

Cardiovascular Care Disparities: Safety-Net HIT Strategy
Description: Designs the implementation of a longitudinal cardiovascular disease information system platform to address disparities viewed as a lifelong disease process, and examines the impact of HIT on quality improvement, medical and financial effectiveness, and increased value.
Year 1 Funding: $194,499 (Estimated total funding: $194,499)
Principal Investigator: Bruce Ferguson, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Grant No.: P20 HS15305 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Distance Management of High-Risk Obstetrical Patients
Description: Develops a technology plan to improve access to maternal-fetal medicine services throughout the State and guides the implementation of telemedicine capabilities to provide real-time remote diagnostic ultrasound and consultative services to women with high-risk pregnancies.
Year 1 Funding: $187,624 (Estimated total funding: $187,624)
Principal Investigator: Helene Kurtz, Woman's Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA
Grant No.: P20 HS15435 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

HIT Service Integration
Description: Creates a detailed assessment of the feasibility of HIT implementation including the development of an implementation plan, specification of clinical and organizational needs, identification of goals, and identifying barriers and ways to address those barriers.
Year 1 Funding: $200,000 (Estimated total funding: $200,000)
Principal Investigator: Michelle Lemming, Franklin Foundation Hospital, Franklin, LA
Grant No.: P20 HS15195 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Louisiana Rural Health Information Technology Partnership
Description: Implements a Complete Medical Record (a computerized emergency department communication, documentation, passive tracking, and medical records system) in an emergency department and evaluates the use of this technology toward improving patient safety and quality of care.
Year 1 Funding: $381,509 (Estimated total funding: $1,125,258)
Principal Investigator: Paul Salles, Assumption Community Hospital, Napoleonville, LA
Grant No.: UC1 HS14953 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Maine (total funding over 3 years: $3.2M)

The Chronic Care Technology Planning Project
Description: Plans for standard exchange of clinical information for patients with chronic disease when transitioning from acute to non-acute care settings between primary care physicians, outpatient specialists, home health providers, nursing homes, and hospitals; creates an Institute for Healthcare Improvement Breakthrough Series Learning Collaborative to build on their work implementing the Chronic Care Model by enhancing the use of IT.
Year 1 Funding: $188,739 (Estimated total funding: $188,739)
Principal Investigator: John Branscombe, The Aroostook Medical Center, Presque Isle, ME
Grant No.: P20 HS14949 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Midcoast Maine Patient Safety with IT Integration
Description: Develops new systems and a high level of integration and cooperation in four significant areas: medication management, patient discharge, high-level integration of information, and the development of a new paradigm for evaluating, selecting, and implementing new technologies.
Year 1 Funding: $200,000 (Estimated total funding: $200,000)
Principal Investigator: Maureen Buckley, Northeast Health Foundation, Rockland, ME
Grant No.: P20 HS15170 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Improving Care in a Rural Region with Consolidated Imaging
Description: Implements and evaluates the results of the Consolidated Imaging—Picture Archiving and Communication System (a shared, standards-based, interoperable health information technology) that makes radiology images available for review within minutes of when they are acquired.
Year 1 Funding: $496,839 (Estimated total funding: $1,382,861)
Principal Investigator: Robert Coleman, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
Grant No.: UC1 HS15328 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Improving HIT Implementation in a Rural Health System
Description: Implements an outpatient EMR in a rural health system using distinct phases to match the expected learning curve and to reduce the potential loss of practice productivity often associated with the implementation of an EMR; also collects data about patient safety, quality, access, cost, and productivity.
Year 1 Funding: $483,000 (Estimated total funding: $1,375,179)
Principal Investigator: Daniel Mingle, Maine General Medical Center, Augusta, ME
Grant No.: UC1 HS15337 (9/10/2004-8/31/2007)

Maryland (total funding over 1 year: $200,000)

Community HealthLink Care: Regional EMR
Description: Develops a secure, comprehensive, virtual health record for medically underserved patients that will lead to the implementation of a HIT infrastructure necessary to support a single, shared EMR application to promote the community-wide exchange of patient information for clinical decision support, research, and disease management on behalf of low-income, uninsured people.
Year 1 Funding: $200,000 (Estimated total funding: $200,000)
Principal Investigator: Thomas Lewis, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, Silver Spring, MD
Grant No.: P20 HS14962 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Massachusets (total funding over 3 years: $13.4M)

Statewide Implementation of Electronic Health Records
Description: Performs a rigorous evaluation of the impact of a Statewide implementation program on EHR adoption by rural and non-rural ambulatory care practices and its impact on medication errors and the quality of ambulatory care as a collaborative effort among providers, insurers, and businesses in cooperation with the State government.
Year 1 Funding: $498,611 (Estimated total funding: $1,497,154)
Principal Investigator: David Bates, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA Grant Number: UC1 HS15397 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

SAFEHealth—Secure Architecture for Exchanging Health Information
Description: Creates a local heath information exchange infrastructure that integrates workflow and improves communication for patients, healthcare providers, payers, and public health agencies.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1,419,846)
Principal Investigator: Lawrence Garber, Fallon Clinic, Inc., Worcester, MA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15220 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

EMS Based TIPI-IS Cardiac Care QI-Error Reduction System
Description: Implements the time-insensitive predictive instruments built into the computerized electrocardiograph in emergency medical service settings and emergency departments; also evaluates its impact on reducing errors and avoidable delays in emergency care.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1,499,998)
Principal Investigator: Harry Selker, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA
Grant No.: UC1 HS15124 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Improving Pediatric Safety and Quality with Health Care IT
Description: Systematically assess improvements in patient safety and experience of care associated with implementation of four decision support function embedded in an electronic health record: 1) the influence of weight based dosing on pediatric adverse drug events; 2) the influence of a test result tracking system on appropriate follow-up of ordered tests; 3) the influence of automated reminders on symptom monitoring and medications for children with asthma and attention deficit disorder.
Year 1 Funding: $496,239 (Estimated total funding: $1,489,826)
Principal Investigator: Timothy Ferris, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS15002 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Improving Safety and Quality with Outpatient Order Entry
Description: Examines the impact of integrating ambulatory CPOE with advanced CDSS on safety and quality in the ambulatory setting, its organizational efficiency, workflow, and satisfaction, and conducts a cost-benefit analysis.
Year 1 Funding: $499,819 (Estimated total funding: $1,499,401)
Principal Investigator: Tejal Gandhi, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS15226 (9/03/2004-8/31/2007)

Value of Imaging-Related Information Technology
Description: Assesses the impact of Medical Imaging Informatics on health care costs and quality and develops a business case related to the acquisition and implementation of automated radiology systems; develops a financial model to demonstrate the impact of these systems on provider systems and healthcare quality.
Year 1 Funding: $494,194 (Estimated total funding: $1,471,989)
Principal Investigator: Scott Gazelle, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS14891 (9/07/2004-8/31/2007)

Health Information Technology in the Nursing Home
Description: Assesses the effects of clinical decision support systems in nursing homes on medication ordering and monitoring for residents in long term care setting; also tracks costs and assesses productivity, impact, and nursing home culture and organization.
Year 1 Funding: $475,566 (Estimated total funding: $1,458,965)
Principal Investigator: Jerry Gurwitz, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS15430 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

Evaluating Smart Forms and Quality Dashboards in an EHR
Description: Assesses the value of HIT to clinicians through creation of CDSS tools integrated with clinical documentation workflow and physician performance feedback, its impact on clinical decision support and quality assessment, and its cost-effectiveness.
Year 1 Funding: $378,525 (Estimated total funding: $1,153,892)
Principal Investigator: Blackford Middleton, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS15169 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

ParentLink: Better and Safer Emergency Care for Children
Description: Evaluates the completeness and accuracy of information on symptoms, disease conditions, medications, and allergies generated by parents using a patient-centered health technology called ParentLink compared to information documented by emergency department physicians and nurses; ParentLink's impact on patient safety and quality.
Year 1 Funding: $361,495 (Estimated total funding: $756,301)
Principal Investigator: Stephen Porter, Children's Hospital Corporation, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS14947 (9/30/2004-9/29/2006)

E-Prescribing Impact on Patient Safety, Use, and Cost
Description: Assesses the impact of a State-wide rollout of e-prescribing using PocketScript® software and its effect on safety, quality, cost, formulary compliance and outcomes.
Year 1 Funding: $499,638 (Estimated total funding: $1,122,244)
Principal Investigator: Joel Weissman, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Grant No.: R01 HS15175 (9/30/2004-12/31/2006)

Michigan (total funding over 3 years: $2.9M)

HIT Planning for a Critical Access Hospital Partnership
Description: Plans, develops, and implements HIT to assist local rural communities in improving health care access, building local and regional resources to monitor the quality of healthcare, and expanding the use of HIT educational, communication, and clinical applications.
Year 1 Funding: $193,848 (Estimated total funding: $193,848)
Principal Investigator: Donald Wheeler, Baraga County Memorial Hospital, L'Anse, MI
Grant No.: P20 HS15004 (9/30/2004-9/29/2005)

Bar Coding for Patient Safety in Northern Michigan
Description: Implements a bar-coding application to an existing integrated HIT network that alerts providers to potential drug interactions and allergic reactions, tracks "near misses," and provides a permanent record of the patient's medication history that is accessible by providers at any site.
Year 1 Funding: $500,000 (Estimated total funding: $1,254,250)
Principal Investigator: Randi Oehlers, Munson Medical Center, Traverse City, MI Grant Number: UC1 HS14878 (9/30/2004-9/29/2007)

HIT Support for Safe Nursing Care
Description: Examines the use of the HANDS software system, an HIT-supported care planning process for nursing care, and its ability to be transferable between nurses, units, and health care settings.
Year 1 Funding: $490,658 (Estimated total funding: $1,486,634)
Principal Investigator: Gail Keenan, Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Grant No.: R01 HS15054 (9/01/2004-8/31/2007)

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