CGI Federal, a wholly-owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI Group Inc. (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB), announced today that, as a member of the CareSpark team, it successfully demonstrated the capability to provide secure data interoperability as part of high priority clinical use cases in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The demonstration took place this week at the 5th NHIN Forum: Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) Trial Implementations – A Path to Production, hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator (ONC).
CGI provided information technology and interoperability design and support for Team CareSpark in three clinical use cases and a key NHIN technology prototype. The Medication Management use case highlights how physicians can view medication histories gathered across multiple communities before electronically prescribing medications in an ambulatory setting. In the Consumer Empowerment: Registration and Medication History use case, patients are able to enter their demographic information, medical history, and self-reported data in a personal health record (PHR) that enables nationwide sharing and communication of patient consent directives. The Wounded Warrior use case demonstrated public/private sector data exchange among multiple private sector providers and electronic health record systems from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. This use case is in direct support of enhanced care for our nation's veterans. Finally, CareSpark participated with the Federal Health Architecture team in a technical demonstration of the NHIN Service Registry to maintain the technical information required for one network to discover the existence of other networks on the NHIN, as well as establish connections with those networks.
CareSpark will now move its demonstration infrastructure to production to power their regional Health Information Exchange. "Interoperability and connectivity across regions brings critical capability to the health of CareSpark's Appalachian community," stated Liesa Jenkins, CareSpark's Executive Director. "This demonstration not only validates the technology, but also proves the collaborative strength of our neighbors in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under the architecture guidance of CGI, we built our regional health information network with interoperability standards that will ease our transition to a nationwide exchange capacity."
"This demonstration applies the technology, standards, and governance of the NHIN Collaborative to real-world clinical settings and advances the goal for all Americans to have access to secure electronic health records by 2014," said Rich Martin, Vice-President, CGI. "These demonstrations reinforce the importance of health data interoperability. CGI is proud to help advance this key component in HHS' plan for reducing medical errors, simplifying care, lowering costs, and improving our nation's health."
About CGI Federal
CGI Federal (www.cgi.com/usfederal) is a wholly-owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI Group Inc., dedicated to providing effective IT solutions for federal government agencies by combining over 30 years of government experience and technology skills. Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is one of the largest independent information technology and business process services firms in the world. CGI and its affiliated companies employ approximately 25,500 professionals. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific as well as from centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. CGI's fiscal 2008 revenue was $3.7 billion and at September 30, 2008, CGI's order backlog was $11.6 billion. CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composi te Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website: www.cgi.com.
About CareSpark
CareSpark is a non-profit regional health information exchange formed to improve health in a 17-county area of northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia through the collaborative sharing of health information exchange. Since its inception in 2005, CareSpark has partnered with local healthcare providers, purchasers, technology companies and policy-makers at federal and state levels to develop a sustainable system and secure network that supports patient care delivery, public health research and population health improvement. CareSpark has been recognized by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence with "Commitment to Quality Awards" in 2006 and 2007, and by Computerworld as a 2008 Laureate.
About the Nationwide Health Information Network
The Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) is an initiative led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, operating under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NHIN is a critical portion of the health IT agenda intended to provide a secure, nationwide, interoperable health information infrastructure that will connect providers, consumers, and others involved in supporting health and healthcare. The NHIN will enable health information to follow the consumer, be available for clinical decision making, and support appropriate use of healthcare information beyond direct patient care so as to improve health. Click here for more information.
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Media
Peter Cutler
Director, Communications
peter.cutler@cgifederal.com
703-633-8973
