LCF RESEARCH Receives Funding For
Health Information Exchange Study
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Awards Albuquerque Organization
Funding for Three Year Research Study
Albuquerque, N.M. – The Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality has announced that LCF Research (formerly Lovelace Clinic Foundation) has been awarded a three-year grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to evaluate the impact of the New Mexico Health Information Collaborative (NMHIC) Health Information Exchange (HIE). LCF Research, a non-profit applied health research institute, will assess NMHIC’s impact on the quality and cost-effectiveness of care among providers in Bernalillo County, specifically measuring the extent that HIE reduces duplicate diagnostic radiology exams and laboratory tests as well as the use of the system by clinicians in participating organizations. It is anticipated that LCF Research’s study will increase the evidence of HIE benefits and will support the sustainability and expansion of NMHIC and its HIE counterparts in other states.
The NMHIC HIE is designed to bring together all of a patient’s electronic health information from a variety of sources to provide complete information for a clinician at the point of care. Therefore, HIE has great promise to improve the coordination of care, reduce medical errors, reduce adverse events and reduce unnecessary duplication of health services. The quality implications of these potential reductions include less radiation exposure and fewer adverse events for patients. Maggie Gunter, project director for the study, commented that “Health information exchange has such great potential, but it is still new and we need more research, such as the RWJF study, to provide compelling evidence of its positive impact on health care costs and quality.”
The funding for this study is provided by the Aligning Forces for Quality: Development Fund, a special funding opportunity from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for organizations in Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) communities. The Development Fund supports innovative and exemplary practices in three areas: health information technology, payment reform, and patient-centered care. RWJF is funding activities that will lead to measurable and tangible outcomes, advance the work of the AF4Q community within which they take place and serve as national models. The funded activities are either new initiatives or build on ongoing work if they represent state-of-the-art practice. LCF Research’s study was one of nine grants awarded from this funding.
The program is part of RWJF’s Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative, a cornerstone of the Foundation’s $300 million commitment to improving quality in specific regions across the United States. The Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality coordinates local efforts for the program. In 2009, Albuquerque was selected as one of 15 AF4Q communities nationwide.
In every region involved in the Aligning Forces for Quality initiative, including Albuquerque, broad-based teams of people who get care, give care and pay for care are working together to improve health care quality. By aligning people from across the community in different AF4Q initiatives, the Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality hopes to help achieve community-wide transformation of health care.
LCF Research LCF Research, formally known as Lovelace Clinic Foundation, was established in 1990 as a not-for-profit organization to foster health services research among physicians, hospitals, and government agencies and to provide continuing professional education for health professionals. LCF Research continues to focus on applied healthcare research and translating research into practice to improve the health of patients and the delivery of quality of health care. Additionally, LCF Research has broadened its focus in New Mexico to support community-based improvements in health and health care. The LCF Research data center has expanded by developing the infrastructure for a statewide electronic health information exchange. LCF Research is now recognized as a national leader in advancing the electronic medical records initiative.
The Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality The Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality is a collaborative project of local area health plans, hospitals, health care providers, consumers, insurers and employers interested in improving the quality of health care in Albuquerque. The Coalition will work with these stakeholders to set standards for reporting quality data, to engage patients in making informed health care decisions and to implement several other quality improvement efforts. For more information, visit www.abqhealthcarequality.org
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org
Contact:
Jennifer Kemp, A.P.R
Communications Specialist
Albuquerque Coalition for Healthcare Quality
(505) 998-9769
jkemp@nmmra.org
Contact:
Margaret Gunter, Ph.D.
President/Executive Director
LCF Research
(505) 938-9901
Maggie@lcfresearch.org
