HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT this week will request proposals from state, regional and nongeographic health data exchange organizations to participate in the second round of the expansion of the Nationwide Health Information Network, Healthcare IT News reports.
ONCHIT will award 10 one-year contracts, with the option for two one-year extensions.
According to an online announcement last month detailing the project, HHS is seeking qualified applicants to form a consortia to include:
- Consumer applications;
- Existing health exchange activities and technical expertise;
- Organizational governance and trust relationships;
- Participating consumers; and
- Provider organizations and health care markets.
HHS in November 2005 awarded $18.6 million to consortia led by Accenture, Computer Science Corporation, IBM and Northrop Grumman to begin groundwork for the NHIN. The results of the first grants were presented in the fall of 2006 and demonstrated how networks could share secure data among hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and physicians in three participating markets.
National Coordinator for Health IT Robert Kolodner in an April interview said he hopes the new grants will create a "groundswell" of interest in electronic health records by providers and generate a "sharp uptick" in health IT adoption (Manos,
Healthcare IT News, 6/5).