FALLS CHURCH, Va., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A secure, multi-agency health information exchange capability developed by Harris Corporation was demonstrated this week during the American Health Information Community (AHIC) meeting in Washington, DC. Once deployed, the Nationwide Health Information Network-Connect will enable federal and private healthcare providers to share patient information seamlessly and privately, improving the quality of care and reducing costs.
About 400 people gathered in the lobby of the Hubert Humphrey Building to view the rapid and secure transfer of health information between the federal agencies, private entities, and community healthcare providers. In a "wounded warrior" scenario, the Nationwide Health Information Network-Connect's (NHIN-Connect's) service-oriented architecture connected the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs with regional and national health information exchanges to demonstrate interoperable healthcare information sharing from the federal-level to the community-level and back. The demonstration also enabled the "wounded warrior's" patient record to be accessed by the Social Security Administration as part of a "long-term disability" scenario.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt chaired the AHIC meeting. AHIC is a federal advisory board focused on accelerating the nationwide adoption of interoperable healthcare information technology. The meeting was also attended by U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake, U.S. Congressman Dave Weldon, and the broader AHIC community.
"While the demonstration focused on the interoperable, secure sharing of healthcare summaries, such as diagnoses, medications, allergies and lab tests -- NHIN-Connect could readily be extended to deliver other fundamental elements of health information such as medical images," said Bart Harmon, MD, Harris chief medical officer and AHIC-2 Transition Committee member.
NHIN-Connect, developed by Harris and its partners Agilex and Scenpro, offers secure, enterprise-wide discovery, query, and delivery of healthcare information between federal stakeholders and regional providers. It also empowers patients by allowing them determine how and with whom their medical information is shared.
"Harris is committed to making a difference for our wounded warriors, veterans, and their families, by assuring secure health information sharing across the continuum of care through enhanced information exchange between federal and regional providers," said Jim Traficant, vice president of Harris Healthcare Solutions.
Harris Healthcare Solutions provides enterprise intelligence solutions and services for commercial and government customers, including systems integration, intelligent infrastructure, advanced visualization and display, enterprise digital content management, and IT services solutions. Harris products, systems, and services improve health outcomes by assuring that critical medical information is delivered with security and privacy to the right person, on the right device, at the point of care.
About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual revenue of $5.3 billion and 16,500 employees - including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications(R) products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at http://www.harris.com/.
