CHICAGO --The Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) will host a conference on July 18-19 for stakeholders from state-level regional health information organizations (RHIOs) to advance understanding of the principles and practices for success. "Development of State Level RHIOs: Consensus Conference" is part of the research being conducted by FORE--under contract to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)--to develop practice and policy guidance for state-level RHIOs in the areas of governance, structure, financing and health information exchange policies.

The conference is open to anyone interested in examining the successes and challenges in state-level organizations and initiatives that coordinate health information exchanges or services. The agenda will consist of plenary sessions, panel discussions and structured dialogue about draft models and practices for effective state-level initiatives. Additionally, the conference will explore how state-level entities might link to and coordinate with the framework for strategic health IT action, the work of American Health Information Community, and other national health IT infrastructure initiatives.

"This is a unique opportunity for stakeholders to learn and help shape the thinking of this rapidly evolving component of the nation wide health information landscape," states Eileen M. Murray, MM, CFRE, CAE, VP and Executive Director of FORE. "Recommendations from the meeting will be incorporated into a final report to ONC, as well as made publicly available."

The consensus conference will take place July 18 - 19 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, VA. It will run from 10:00am - 5:00pm July 18 and 9:00am - 12:00pm on July 19. Draft documents will be made available online by July 11 for participants to review prior to the conference. For more information, including agenda and registration, visit www.staterhio.org.

ABOUT AHIMA
AHIMA is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's 50,000 members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information needed to deliver quality health care to the public. Founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning. For more information about the Association, go to www.ahima.org.

ABOUT FORE
FORE provides financial and intellectual resources to sustain and recognize continuous innovation and advances in HIM for the betterment of the profession, healthcare, and the public. For more information about FORE, visit www.ahima.org/fore.

ABOUT NCSL
The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues. NCSL is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of state governments before Congress and federal agencies. For more information about NCSL visit www.ncsl.org.

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