Interoperability
In an investment it expects will pay dividends as healthcare IT usage grows apace, Aetna announced Tuesday that it would spend $500 million to acquire Medicity, the Salt Lake City-based developer of health information exchange technology.
In September, Healthcare IT News explained how one lawsuit against a nascent health information exchange could be a sign of things to come as states get their own HIEs up and running.
Catholic Health Initiatives, a Denver-based healthcare system, announced in June it would hire more than 200 high-tech workers to help roll out its new clinical system across the country.
With a more urgent timeline for data sharing across the country, the government is now rethinking the Nationwide Health Information Network – the NHIN.
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has unveiled the first version of the software that will allow simple information exchange between providers, a crucial enabler for the first stage of meaningful use of electronic health records.
Vangent has been awarded a $3.3 million contract with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to support meaningful use interoperability deployment. Its Health Information Exchange Open Source (HIEOS) technology will help IHS meet requirements for EHR certification.
Maine's culture is to "get things done" - and when it comes to improving the quality of care through IT, the state has positioned itself well, said its director of the Office of the State Coordinator for HIT, James Leonard at a regional extension center (REC) educational forum this week.
The Office of the National Coordinator will start real-world testing of clinical information exchanges between healthcare providers using "NHIN Direct" standards and services in late December or early January, according to the connectivity project's director.
"We were hearing a lot of, 'OK, I get that Covisint will help deliver the data back and forth, but what do we do with it? How can we change it into information that will help the physician make better decisions?’"
The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded nearly $49 million to help 48 states and the District of Columbia plan for health insurance exchanges, including assessing existing information technology systems and infrastructure. However, not all states are eager to take the funds.