D.C. REC Partners with CapSite to Improve HIT Purchasing

CapSite, a healthcare technology research and advisory firm in Williston, Vt., announced today that the District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA), a non-profit healthcare reform organization has subscribed to the CapSite service to assist their network of providers in improving their processes for purchasing healthcare technology.

CapSite’s online, subscription-based service provides extraordinarily detailed transparency on healthcare technology pricing and packaging to support DCPCA’s efforts to facilitate the transition to and adoption of HIT at provider sites across the District of Columbia. CapSite enables providers to make informed decisions at the planning, budgeting and negotiating phases of their purchasing process.

In February 2010, DCPCA entered in to a collaborative agreement to serve as the DC Regional Extension Center, eHealthDC, under the Health Information Technology Extension Program Regional Centers Cooperative Agreement Program. DCPCA’s recognized expertise in EHRs allows them to advise health centers and other participants on their technology acquisitions to help avoid costly mistakes when making technology choices.

Through a grant from the DC government, DCPCA facilitated the implementation of electronic health records in the safety net clinics, creating an opportunity to link this network of EHRs to hospitals to create the core of the DC Regional Health Information Organization (DC RHIO). In October 2010, DCPCA was informed that the DC RHIO is slated to become the platform for the State Health Information Exchange (HIE), a collaborative health information exchange system that seeks to improve care quality and cost-effectiveness through access to shared patient information.