In the News

January 14, 2010 - Mary Mosquera, GovHealthIT.com

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. a contract to help develop a testing method and processes for certifying electronic health record systems.

The $400,000 contract, announced Jan. 13, calls for the consulting firm to help NIST build a testing framework for health IT, a certification "process document" and other planning tools.  NIST announced the short-term contract on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site Jan. 13.

The work is part of a larger contract BAH already has with NIST for health IT consulting services, according to the announcement.  The just-announced contract will provide a bridge until NIST finished a competition for providers to complete the work.  

NIST said it had two goals for the program: to develop testing and certification documents to help set up a health IT certification program, and to set up a "proficiency testing framework" for authorizing certification and testing organizations.

NIST was provided $20 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help the OFfice of the National Coordinator for Health IT build a "testing infrasctucture that support the security and interoperability of EHR systems," according to the agency.

The terms of the recent meaningful use rules require providers to use certified EHR systems to qualify for federal health IT incentives.  Dr. David Blumenthal, the national health IT coordinator, has said that he will announce early this year a process through which a number of different organizations could certify EHR systems.

Currently, the Certification Commission for Health IT is the sole organization set up to certify the performance of EHR systems. 

December 24, 2009 - Diana Manos, Senior Editor and Jack Beaudoin, VP Healthcare IT News

WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a sweeping healthcare reform bill Thursday morning by a 60-39 margin, all but ensuring that President Barack Obama will get one of his legislative priorities written into law in early 2010.

The Senate bill must now be reconciled with the House version, which was passed earlier this fall.  When those differences are resolved, a final vote of approval from Congress is all that stands in the way of the President's signature enacting the bill into law. 

December 21, 2009 - HIMSS.org

A $60 million Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) was announced last Friday by Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.  The SHARP funding will strengthen the health information technology infrastructure through the competitive award of approximately four cooperative agreements focused research in areas where breakthrough advances are needed to address barriers to the adoption of health IT.  

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December 02, 2009 - Diana Manos, Senior Editor Healthcare IT News

WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and David Blumenthal, MD, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, have announced $235 million in grants supporting non-profit organizations and local governments that can exemplify the positive impact of healthcare IT on population health. 

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BELLE MEAD, NJ  (August 19, 2009) – Two new ambulatory surgical centers under construction in Northern New Jersey will streamline and improve the quality of care for patients through a partnership with Health Informatics Consulting, a leader in healthcare technology.

TRENTON, N.J., Sept 29, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Stephanie "Stevie" Davidson, president and CEO of Health Informatics Consulting, www.hi-consulting.net has been appointed by New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine to serve on the state Health Information Technology Commission, a new body created to jump-start the much-needed conversion to computerized patient records by doctors.