ARDX works to deliver integrated healthcare management and technology solutions to various government agencies including, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Department of Treasury, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), U.S. Coast Guard, Baltimore City Department of Social Services, and the City of Norfolk.
Baltimore City Workforce Development Program
Beginning in June 2016, ARDX led an effective Workforce Development Project with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. During this project, ARDX provided work participation, placement, and support services to over 1,200 inner-city residents, with the City’s goal of setting the benchmark at a 70% participation rate. ARDX was responsible for an initial assessment of each resident, identification, and remediation of success barriers (i.e., housing, education, skills training, transportation, childcare, etc.), documentation and execution of employment development plans (EDP), and coordination of services with other human services providers.
Utilizing our project management and CMMI Level 5 data-driven approaches, ARDX was able to meet and exceed our primary, monthly performance goal by continually collecting, analyzing, and improving upon our metrics – which was a testament to our program effectiveness. By the end of the project, 75% of employed residents were placed in “career” positions, 25% of whom were in higher wage positions, earning at least 25% above the poverty level.
CMS Online Learning Center, Registration for Technical Assistance Portal (REGTAP)
ARDX worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) providing Technical Assistance programs. ARDX designed, implemented, and maintains The Registration for Technical Assistance Portal (REGTAP), a centralized Online Learning Center for education and outreach, serving Health Insurance Issuers, States, Regulators, Third Party Administrators, Agents, and Brokers. Initially scoped to support less than 20,000 users, REGTAP has exceeded expectations with 100,000+ users, over 900,000+ training registrations, and over 13M page views. In addition to developing REGTAP, ARDX has conducted over 500 webinars since 2016 and continues to support content development through analysis of legislative guidance manuals, newsletters, job aids, and other documentation.
Third Party Adaptive Control & Security Assessments
Working on various projects with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), security and risk management is at the core of the ARDX system management approach. By integrating CMS Acceptable Risk Safeguards (ARS) and the underlying National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards into our process, we ensure compliance throughout the full project lifecycle. ARDX maintains a stellar record of audit success through continual focus on process and security control compliance. We audit our teams and projects and test Disaster Recovery and Contingency Plans regularly. Through our partnership with CMS, we work closely with CMS Security Officers to maintain project transparency and alignment with agency guidance.
Conference Facilitation, Women’s Wellness Celebration
Understanding that women and girls are at the highest risk for depression, ARDX established the Women’s Wellness Celebration (WWC), a one-day annual conference dedicated to empowering women and young girls to make mental wellness a top priority. Since it’s 9th Annual conference held in 2016, ARDX has themed the event around mental health. Collaborating with federal, state, and local agencies the conference includes up to 16 expert speakers and panelists and 12 breakout sessions focused on a variety of mental health issues. ARDX coordinates and facilitates the entire conference from start-to-finish including conference logistics, vendor management, agenda development, call for speaker selection and peer review, the creation of conference materials, and all communication and public relation efforts.
Mental Wellness Initiatives
With an unwavering commitment to improving the mental wellness of women and young girls, ARDX launched the ARDX Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to shining a light on mental wellness. In partnership with the ARDX Foundation, ARDX is helping transcend the stigma surrounding mental health by building a center of excellence for community integration, which is pro-actively addressing issues through positive mental wellness initiatives. Through various community outreach programs designed to build awareness, educate, engage, and integrate the resources that are available in our community, the ARDX Foundation is committed to transforming the lives of women and their families, enabling them to make their own mental wellness a top priority.
CMS Risk Adjustment & Payment Policy Web Portal
ARDX designed and developed Medicare Part C & Part D Payment Research Support Web Portal for Risk Adjustment & Payment Policy wherein Medicare Advantage Organizations’ (MAOs) could submit questions regarding risk adjustment payment and operations to a centralized data repository. In addition, ARDX designed and developed the PWSOPS FAQ website; a repository of CMS approved questions and answers accessible through the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) central database and payment questions and answers developed by Division of Payment (DPO) staff.
CMS Medicare Encounter Data System
ARDX supported the development and implementation of the Medicare Encounter Data System by designing and implementing a comprehensive business requirements gathering project to document the fee-for-service claims systems, including pricers and fee schedules used to build the Encounter Data System. ARDX’s support has resulted in savings of over $33 Million to the Medicare Trust fund.
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and OMB Clearance
Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight Project: ARDX worked with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) to develop several streamlined Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Clearance Packages for evaluations of stakeholder trainings related to the Health Insurance Marketplace and Market Stabilization Programs. In addition, ARDX supported CCIIO by developing an OMB Package for “Generic Clearance for Evaluation of Stakeholder Training” in preparation for future training evaluations, customer satisfaction surveys and focus groups related to the Health Insurance Marketplace and Market Stabilization Programs.
U.S. Department of the Treasury Project: For the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund), ARDX developed a full OMB Clearance Package for a one-time population-based stakeholder survey. The online survey was one component of a study conducted to provide a baseline analysis and gather feedback regarding one of five main programs administered by the CDFI Fund to promote access to capital and to stimulate economic growth in distressed communities—the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program.
Population Health & Community Development Analysis and Evaluation, U.S. Department of the Treasury
While population health and community development have been major areas of emphasis for decades, there has been an increased focus on collaboration between the two entities in recent years. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) play an important role in this collaboration through community revitalization and dedicated support to economically disadvantaged individuals in underserved communities. ARDX, in partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Woodstock Institute, conducted a full-scale evaluation of one of the CDFI Fund’s key initiatives—the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program.
ARDX designed and implemented a mixed-method evaluation to develop baseline information about the history and evolution of the program, and provided an analysis of administrative and other secondary data, including Census statistics. In addition, ARDX collected survey data from the population of BEA Program applicants and awardees for Award Years 2012-2014 to gather feedback regarding perceptions of the benefits of the BEA Program, and effects of the program on key stakeholders.
An innovative adaptive data collection approach resulted in a response rate of 65 percent and extremely effective sample representation. Response rates of 90 and 100 percent were achieved for the multi-strand stakeholder interviews. Comprehensive statistical analyses with appropriate significance testing, coupled with deductive and inductive qualitative data synthesis techniques yielded robust datasets with reliable estimates. The results of the evaluation are posted on the following CDFI Fund web page: https://www.cdfifund.gov/research-data/Pages/default.aspx
Adaptive Control Testing (ACT)
Beginning in December 2019, ARDX provided CMS ISPG a team of Security and Risk Assessment professionals to assure CMS systems maintain Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA). This partnership includes the implementation oversight of more than 231+ CMS Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) systems to ensure secure implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended), the Computer Security Act of 1987 (as amended), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191 (as amended), the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014, and other rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines promulgated by HHS, the OMB, and NIST guidance. ARDX has enabled ISPG to transition to the new ACT framework which implements the Department of Human Services (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program and NIST Interagency Report (NISTIR) 8011 to ensure all CMS systems adhere to CMS’s ARS to minimize any costly interruption of services or disclosure of sensitive information.
The goal is to educate, consult, and advise stakeholders to make decisions based upon understanding the risks identified in the security and risk assessments in the context to their unique technical and operational requirement. ARDX cyber security team has more than 90 years of CMS cyber security experience, over 290 years of cyber security experience, and more than 86 certifications that support the ACT program.
Appeals & Program Integrity Support
As a trusted advisor to CMS, ARDX provides program support and evaluation to the Center for Program Integrity (CPI), targeted at Medicare and ACA Exchange Fraud, Waste, and Abuse prevention strategies. ARDX has developed strategies and innovative solutions to support functions in the following areas:
- Adjudicate Appeals for Payment Recovery from the Risk Adjustment Data Validations (RADV) Projects
- Examine Trends in Telehealth Services Dissecting Population Analytics
- Provide Evidence-Based Research & Design Applications
- Data Mining & Modeling
- Reporting, Automation & Data Visualization
System Design & Development
To support the City of Norfolk’s goal to become the most Small Business Friendly City, ARDX developed a user friendly interactive website that allows current and aspiring entrepreneurs to have a “one-stop-shop” where they can navigate information and resources they need for business planning, launching, managing, and growing their business. Entrepreneurs can utilize tools to calculate costs, assess level of readiness to do business with the City of Norfolk, and compare the best business structure for their business ideas. In addition, there is an in interactive Guided Tour that navigates an entrepreneur through the four major stages of planning a business: Conducting Market Research, Developing the Business Plan, Calculating Start-up Costs, and Funding the Business.
CMS Provider Customer Service Program
ARDX designed and delivered a series of studies and recommendations to improve operations and governance capabilities of a large, multi-site, and politically consequential contact center. Additionally, ARDX developed and managed a strategic plan, optimized service operations, and instituted continuous service improvements.
Centrally and across the government’s operational environment ARDX’s comprehensive contact center expertise covers all channels and technologies including:
- Mobile Support
- Live Chat, Chat Bots, and Artificial Intelligence
- Self-Service, Website, and IVR Programming and Monitoring
- Social Support
- Omnichannel Support
Electronic Health Records & Teleradiology
ARDX has begun supporting the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Teleradiology efforts for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). For these projects, ARDX is providing subject matter expertise in the area of Cerner and teleradiology to perform clinical installations. This new project marks ARDX’s enhanced performance of Healthcare IT implementations and support. Leveraging approaches influenced by ISO 9001:2015 and CMMI-SVC Maturity Level 5, our teleradiology and Cerner SMEs will provide support to the U.S. Coast Guard and its large scale implementation of the Genesis healthcare system.
