Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients
A nonprofit health information exchange serving Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients, commonly known as CRISP, is a nonprofit health information exchange established to support the electronic movement of clinical information among healthcare organizations. It functions as Maryland’s state-designated health information exchange under the Maryland Health Care Commission and also serves the District of Columbia. Its central purpose is to make relevant patient information available to authorized healthcare professionals at the point of care, including when patients receive treatment from organizations that use different information systems. CRISP emerged from a 2006 discussion involving John Erickson and chief information officers from Maryland’s largest hospital systems. The initial concern was how to make medical records more readily available when older patients arrived at hospitals, but the concept developed into a statewide infrastructure for connecting hospitals, physicians, public agencies, and other participants in the healthcare system. By 2008, CRISP was working with the Maryland Health Care Commission to plan a statewide exchange and had engaged a broad group of healthcare stakeholders. The organization was created by Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health, the University of Maryland Medical System, and Erickson Retirement Communities. Its governance model incorporates input from clinicians, hospitals, patients, privacy advocates, insurers, regulators, and policymakers. A policy structure convened with the Maryland Health Care Commission provides oversight for statewide exchange policies, while advisory bodies provide expertise on clinical operations, technology, finance, privacy and security, and reporting and analytics. CRISP’s services are designed to support safer, more timely, efficient, effective, equitable, and patient-centered care. Its exchange capabilities can help participating providers locate clinical information from other care settings, coordinate treatment, reduce avoidable duplication, and support population-health and quality-improvement work. The organization has also developed reporting and analytics functions intended to help healthcare organizations monitor performance and support efforts such as reducing readmissions. The exchange has relied on contracted technology and service providers. Initiate Systems and Axolotl Corporation were selected in 2009 to provide software-as-a-service capabilities for clinical information exchange. Axolotl was later replaced by Mirth Results, a NextGen company, in 2011. Audacious Inquiry has been among the external organizations supporting CRISP’s service development and operations and initially acted as program director for the effort. CRISP received public and healthcare-sector support during its development, including seed funding generated through adjustments to reimbursement rates for participating hospitals and federal funding associated with statewide health information exchange implementation. Maryland’s health information technology extension program was also supported by a federal Department of Health and Human Services grant. Over time, CRISP connected with acute-care hospitals across Maryland and the District of Columbia and expanded connectivity through relationships with neighboring health information exchanges. It remains an operating regional health-data infrastructure organization rather than a conventional consumer-facing healthcare brand.
History
CRISP began in 2006 after a discussion between John Erickson and the chief information officers of three major Maryland hospital systems. The practical issue was the difficulty of making patient records available when seniors received care at hospitals, particularly when information was held in separate institutional systems. The discussion led to a broader effort to establish an electronic exchange capable of moving clinical information between otherwise disconnected healthcare organizations. By 2008, CRISP had partnered with the Maryland Health Care Commission to plan a statewide health information exchange. The planning process involved dozens of healthcare stakeholders and developed a governance model intended to balance operational needs with clinical, technical, financial, privacy, and public-policy concerns. CRISP was formed by Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health, the University of Maryland Medical System, and Erickson Retirement Communities. The Maryland Health Care Commission designated it as the state’s health information exchange. The organization’s development was supported by several funding mechanisms. Participating hospitals contributed to seed funding through an adjustment in reimbursement rates, producing $10 million in initial support. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology awarded Maryland $9.3 million for statewide health information exchange implementation through CRISP. In 2010, Maryland’s Health IT Extension Center was established with a $5.5 million grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Technology selection was an important part of the early implementation. In 2009, Initiate Systems and Axolotl Corporation were selected to supply software-as-a-service capabilities for clinical information exchange. Axolotl was subsequently replaced by Mirth Results, associated with NextGen, in 2011. Audacious Inquiry was one of the contracted organizations involved in enabling and managing exchange services and initially served as the program director for the initiative. CRISP’s governance structure included a policy board convened by the Maryland Health Care Commission to oversee policies for the statewide exchange. A separate board of advisors was designed to provide broad stakeholder input to the CRISP board of directors. More than 30 organizations were represented through advisory structures described in the organization’s development materials. The advisory committees addressed clinical priorities, technology architecture and security, financial sustainability, privacy and security, and reporting and analytics. Operationally, CRISP developed services to allow authorized participants to exchange clinical information across disparate health information systems. These services were intended to support the availability of the right information at the right place and time, improving care coordination and reducing inefficiencies caused by fragmented records. Reporting tools were also developed to help hospitals and other users assess performance, including monitoring related to readmission-reduction goals. CRISP expanded its connectivity over time and reached acute-care hospitals throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia. It also pursued connections through partnerships with neighboring health information exchanges. Its role therefore developed beyond the original planning effort into a continuing regional data-exchange infrastructure, with services spanning clinical information access, interoperability, analytics, and governance. CRISP is a nonprofit, stakeholder-oriented exchange rather than a hospital system, insurance company, or electronic medical-record vendor.
- 2011
Change in exchange technology provider
[1]CRISP replaced Axolotl with Mirth Results, a technology provider associated with NextGen.
- 2010
Maryland Health IT Extension Center established
[1]A Maryland health information technology extension program was established with federal Department of Health and Human Services grant support.
- 2009
Technology vendors selected
[1]Initiate Systems and Axolotl Corporation were selected to provide software-as-a-service capabilities for clinical information exchange.
- 2009
Maryland legislation supported exchange participation
[1]House Bill 706 gave the Maryland Health Care Commission authority to establish incentives encouraging physician participation in the exchange.
- 2008
Partnership with the Maryland Health Care Commission
[1]CRISP partnered with the Maryland Health Care Commission to plan Maryland’s health information exchange and engaged a wide range of healthcare stakeholders.
- 2006
Initial CRISP concept developed
[1]John Erickson and hospital-system CIOs began discussing how patient records could be made available across care settings, leading to the creation of a statewide exchange initiative.
Regional connectivity expanded
[1]CRISP connected with acute-care hospitals across Maryland and the District of Columbia and extended its reach through partnerships with neighboring health information exchanges.
Products and positioning
A public-interest, stakeholder-governed health information exchange focused on interoperability, coordinated care, data availability, and healthcare improvement across Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Health information exchange
Clinical health information exchange
CRISP’s core offering enables authorized healthcare participants to exchange clinical information across organizational and software-system boundaries. The service is intended to make relevant records available during care, supporting coordination when a patient moves between hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare settings. Its value depends on interoperability, participation by healthcare organizations, appropriate authorization, and governance of sensitive health data.
Clinical workflow tool
Provider-facing patient information access
CRISP provides tools intended to help participating providers locate and use clinical information from other connected organizations. These capabilities address the fragmented nature of medical records and are designed to support more informed treatment decisions, reduce unnecessary duplication, and improve the timeliness of information available at the point of care.
Healthcare analytics
Reporting and analytics
CRISP’s reporting and analytics services support healthcare organizations and statewide improvement programs. The organization has developed reports for monitoring performance and helping hospitals assess goals such as reducing readmissions. Advisory governance is used to evaluate the clinical relevance, usability, distribution, and longer-term direction of these analytical services.
Health technology infrastructure
Interoperability and exchange connectivity
Beyond direct exchange among Maryland and District of Columbia participants, CRISP has pursued connectivity with neighboring health information exchanges. These relationships broaden the geographic availability of information and help address the cross-border nature of patient care, while requiring coordination around technical standards, privacy, security, and operating policies.
Brand decisions
2011
Replaced Axolotl with Mirth ResultsStrategyBackground
CRISP changed a major technology relationship during the development of its clinical information exchange.
Action taken
Axolotl was replaced by Mirth Results, a company associated with NextGen.
Aftermath
The change provided a new technology-provider arrangement as CRISP continued expanding exchange services and features.
2009
Selected initial software-as-a-service exchange providersStrategyBackground
CRISP needed an operating technology platform to support clinical information exchange among participating healthcare organizations.
Action taken
The organization selected Initiate Systems and Axolotl Corporation to provide software-as-a-service capabilities for the exchange.
Aftermath
The selections formed part of CRISP’s early implementation architecture. Axolotl was later replaced by Mirth Results in 2011.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/chesapeake-regional-information-system-for-our-patients · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled