Medical Society of Virginia Foundation

Initiative to implement electronic medical records in physician offices

Executive Summary: The Medical Society of Virginia Foundation carried out a project to educate and guide physicians in making electronic medical record (EMR) decisions and navigating the EMR systems commercial market. The grantee aimed to increase information and confidence among physicians in office computerization, enhance hospital-based systems and access to hospital clinical data by the office practice systems, and improve patient safety and quality of care resulting from widespread use of integrated EMRs. The Medical Society of Virginia Foundation worked with IT consultants, independent from EMR vendors, to provide physician practices detailed audits on hardware and software needs as well as recommended scenarios for EMR implementation. In addition, the grantee organized a free CME event titled, “Transform Your Practice: Electronic Medical Records,” which hosted over 100 attendees, including 70 physicians. Funding from The Physicians Foundation supported the Medical Society of Virginia Foundation in providing education and technical assistance to practices interested in adopting health information technology and served as the foundation for a continuing program of promoting eHealth in the Virginia community.

After the completion of the grant, the Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NOVARHIO) was founded as a non-profit with the goal of establishing a Health Information Exchange for the Northern Virginia region. The NOVARHIO sponsored a seminar on eHealth Initiatives, which was attended by over 60 physicians and medical office managers. Data and information derived from the Foundation’s grant served as the basis for planning the seminar. Additionally, NOVARHIO launched its first pilot project in 2010 at the Virginia Hospital Center ED, providing pharmacy information to physicians in ED at the time of patient contact.