Mission Statement

The Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NoVa RHIO)
works to enhance the health status of those who live or work in Northern Virginia and the quality of their health care by facilitating secure, reliable and timely access to and exchange of accurate electronic and other health records.

· NVRHIOs activities and efforts are characterized by the values of:  Integrity – The protection of an individuals’ personal and private information is of critical importance;  Balance – The public health needs of the NOVA community must always be considered;  Prevention – Program design should contribute to health promotion and health maintenance; Convenience – Programs will be user friendly and promote access to health and health care;   Safety – Programs will improve the safety of medical care;  Value – Programs will improve the efficiency of medical care; and Transparency – All administrative operations will be available for public review.

· The availability of accurate and timely medical records will provide benefits to patients in the form of enhanced care, physicians through the ability to provide more timely and responsive care,  employers through a healthier workforce and reduced healthcare costs, and  insurers through increased efficiencies (These efficiencies will ultimately result in lower costs for all stakeholder groups).

· To facilitate the availability of accurate and timely medical records, when needed for health maintenance and treatment,  NVRHIO’s objective is to foster / lead the development of a Northern Virginia health information exchange (HIE) connecting hospitals and physician practices in Northern Virginia.  The exchange will enable physicians to more quickly access and transmit lab results and prescriptions in times of emergency and for general care.

· NVRHIO is focusing on the possibility of an initial exchange pilot project that facilitates the exchange of basic background patient information, medications, and lab results.  The initial exchange pilot may have an element oriented to at risk populations.

· To aid in the development, NVRHIO is also undertaking a preliminary project to facilitate the automation of the  “File for Life”  - so that this important information is readily available to emergency personnel ambulance crews in advance of arriving at a patient’s home.

· NVRHIO’s longer term goal is a full health information exchange for electronic medical records including lab results, medications, radiology, and allergies.

· The availability of accurate and timely medical records when needed for health maintenance and treatment has the potential to save lives in emergency care and enhance quality of care for patients with chronic illnesses (and in fact the quality of care for all patients).

· Northern Virginia is lagging in such an effort – over 100 regions across the country are already well underway in their initiatives.    Over the last six months, a broad group (open to all) of health professionals, patient group representatives, business people and community representatives have made significant inroads towards organizing and structuring a Northern Virginia health information exchange.

· The United States has a national goal for every patient to have an electronic medical record by 2014.   Northern Virginia needs to be ready to connect to the national network.

· The Commonwealth has undertaken a project to develop a Master Patient Index for citizens to facilitate the development of health information exchanges across the state.

· Seed money for NVRHIO is going to be from large Northern Virginia employers, payors and grants.

· After startup, NVRHIO will be self-sustaining financially through means of memberships and transaction based pricing.