IBM to Prototype Medical Information Exchange System to Enable Industry Collaboration

IBM to Prototype Medical Information Exchange System to Enable Industry Collaboration

IBM today announced it is building a test bed that it plans to use in collaboration with players in the healthcare field to accelerate development of a true standards-based, interoperable national healthcare information system.

Called the Interoperable Health Information Infrastructure (IHII), the IBM system is designed to allow the first on demand ecosystem in the healthcare industry, enabling the integration of information among hospitals, agencies and consumers to improve the effectiveness of medical care. IHII will span IBM sites in San Jose, California; Rochester, Minnesota; and Haifa, Israel, to replicate the type of national and international linkages that would be necessary to implement a comprehensive, secure electronic healthcare ecosystem. IBM expects the pilot to be fully operational by the end of this year.

The use of information technology and open standards to allow the electronic flow of information within the healthcare industry is viewed as an essential step in reducing costs and improving quality. Experts estimate that the move to electronic medical records could cut 10 percent or more from the $1.7 trillion spent on health care annually in the United States alone.

“Improving health care through the flow of electronic medical information is a national priority,” said Neil E. de Crescenzo, IBM BCS healthcare industry leader. “Our goal is to facilitate improvement in health care from the inside out, which will require the collaborative efforts of health care providers, insurers, technology companies and other players in the industry. With the IHII, we’re establishing an On Demand environment in which technical issues can be resolved in just such an open, collaborative way.”

IBM is already working with several Regional Health Information Organizations around the United States to enable the sharing of electronic medical records locally within a region or state. This new IBM initiative is focused on defining and developing technology that will enable sharing of electronic health records across multiple regional health networks in an open standards manner.

Read the complete Press Release