The Federal Health Architecture is making software available to help public and private healthcare IT systems communicate to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), a federal initiative to facilitate the electronic exchange of health information.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has facilitated development of the NHIN, which will tie together health information exchanges, integrated delivery networks, pharmacies, government health facilities and payers, labs, providers, private payers, and other stakeholders into a "network of networks." The NHIN uses interoperability standards recognized by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as public and private sector specifications, participation agreements, and policies. To enable health information exchanges over the NHIN, the ONC is working to develop the necessary governance processes and legal framework for participation in the network.
The CONNECT software is the outcome of a 2008 decision by more than 20 federal agencies to connect their healthcare IT systems to the NHIN. The free software and supporting documentation is available at www.connectopensource.org. As with other open source solutions, organizations are encouraged to modify and expand the capabilities of the software.
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