Version 2.1 of the Federal Health Architecture's Nationwide Health Information Network CONNECT software is expected some time next month.
CONNECT was created by the Federal Health Architecture (FHA), which is managed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The FHA collaborated with 20 federal partners to build information technology that would allow them to exchange health data electronically with providers and organizations around the county through the NHIN.
In April the CONNECT software was made available to the public under an open source license in an effort that officials hoped would speed NHIN adoption among healthcare organizations.
Version 2.1 is expected to include enterprise service components (messaging passing interface, document registry/repository, policy engine and an audit log), enhancements to messaging security and reliability and Linux platform support.
Officials say the technology will someday provide enhanced services for discovering patients and other entities within the NHIN, integration with claims and pharmacy networks, integration with grid-based networks and improved capabilities for public health, quality reporting and clinical decision support.
Craig Miller, chief enterprise architect of CONNECT, said the NHIN is being developed with personal health records in mind.
"The NHIN will be an important vehicle for patients to receive information from their providers to populate their PHRs," he said.
Miller said an initiative to determine an appropriate strategy to securely exchange information from federal and non-federal entities is underway.
FHA Program Director Vish Sankaran said a "strong solution for identity management" also needs to be developed. Patients are currently identified using demographic information.
Miller said the NHIN will have "an important role to play in the evolution of American healthcare by producing a secure, single network to take the place of proprietary expensive solutions." He pointed to its use in limited production by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, the Indian Health Service, the National Disaster Medical System, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cancer Institute.
Sankaran said the public still has problems accessing necessary health data. "It is time to change this once and for all," he said.
"The success of CONNECT will hinge on third parties out there in the healthcare community," said Miller.
