HITSP to Address Provisions of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

May 13, 2009

CHARLESTON, SC –  May 11, 2009 – As a key leader of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), an SCRA affiliate, is helping to refocus the HITSP effort to address near-term requirements as detailed in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Operating under contract to the Department of Health and Human Services, HITSP is administered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in cooperation with ATI. ATI provides program management, overall financial management and administration. Its strategic partners include the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and Booz Allen Hamilton.

This refocus will occur during the next 90 days, since ARRA contains numerous technology and privacy provisions with aggressive timelines for completion. Many of the initial ARRA milestones are related to standards and HITSP’s work products to date: 13 Interoperability Specifications and associated constructs, which will be leveraged for guidance to support electronic health records (EHR). This will result in compact, easy-to-implement, and flexible implementation guidance that supports the meaningful use of EHRs and protection of privacy.

Many of the initial ARRA milestones are related to standards and HITSP’s work, including:

  • Technology to protect privacy and security
  • A nationwide health information infrastructure that supports exchange of health information
  • The use of certified health records for each person in the U.S. by 2014
  • Technologies to account for disclosures of health information
  • The use of EHRs to improve the quality of health care by promoting the coordination of health care and improving continuity of health care among health care providers; reducing medical errors; improving population health; reducing health disparities; reducing chronic disease; and advancing research and education
  • Technologies that allow individually identifiable health information to be rendered unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals
  • The use of electronic systems to ensure the comprehensive collection of patient demographic data
  • Technologies that address the needs of children and other vulnerable populations

HITSP is an industry wide collaboration that recommends the standards that will meet clinical and business needs for sharing electronic health information across organizations and systems. The guidance documents developed through this program – known as Interoperability Specifications – make it possible to exchange critical healthcare information between doctors, emergency responders and insurance companies without compromising the confidentiality of the patient’s medical records. The Department of Health and Human Services now requires federal agencies to implement recognized HITSP Interoperability Specifications when sharing healthcare information with public and/or private organizations.

“We are pleased that HITSP, in collaboration with our partners at ANSI, HIMSS and Booz Allen Hamilton, will further advance health care technology in support of national initiatives,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO. “We are proud to see SCRA’s ATI affiliate once again bring greater interoperability, process efficiencies and financial returns as assured outcomes for both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the health care industry.”     

About the Advanced Technology Institute
The Advanced Technology Institute builds international consortia to develop and implement innovative solutions for manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, maritime, metals, energy and healthcare industries.  ATI-led collaborations attract world-class talent from premier companies, universities and government agencies. A private, non-profit research corporation with principal operations in Charleston, SC, ATI is an affiliate of SCRA.  For more information, please visit
www.aticorp.org.

About SCRA
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in South Carolina, Ohio and Washington, D.C. area. SCRA collaborates to advance technology, providing technology-based solutions with assured outcomes to industry and government, with the help of research universities in SC, the U.S. and around the world. For more information, please visit
www.scra.org.

About HITSP
Operating under contract to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HITSP is administered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in cooperation with strategic partners including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and Booz Allen Hamilton.

About ANSI
ANSI is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute currently administers five standards panels in the areas of homeland security, nanotechnology, healthcare information technology, biofuels, and identity theft prevention and identity management.

About Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton has been at the forefront of strategy and technology consulting for more than 90 years. Booz Allen combines a consultant’s unique problem-solving orientation with deep technical knowledge and strong execution to help government agencies, institutions, and infrastructure organizations achieve success in their most critical missions. Providing a broad range of services in strategy, operations, organization and change, information technology, systems engineering, and program management, Booz Allen is committed to delivering results that endure. Booz Allen has 20,000 employees. In 2008, for the fourth consecutive year, Fortune magazine named it one of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For,” and Working Mother magazine has ranked the firm among its “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” annually since 1999.