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CSC and 'Connecting for Health' Team Successfully Demonstrates Nationwide Health Information Network Prototype

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 09:01 CST

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Computer Sciences Corporation announced today that the CSC and Connecting for Health team successfully demonstrated the exchange of health information through a Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) prototype. The team securely transferred healthcare data between MA-SHARE, the Indiana Health Information Exchange and the Mendocino Health Records Exchange, and local public health departments within the regions participating in the CSC consortium -- Boston, Mass.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Mendocino County, Calif.

The team built its model on the Common Framework for health information exchange developed by Connecting for Health, a public-private collaborative of more than 100 organizations. The Common Framework approach emphasizes a "network of networks" with a low barrier to entry for participating regional sub-network organizations and other networks, and leverages existing health industry and Internet infrastructure without requiring new networks, specific applications or hardware, central databases or a central operator.

"Through the commitment and dedication of the entire CSC and Connecting for Health team, we have demonstrated that health data can be exchanged accurately, quickly and securely, using readily available technology and existing systems," said James W. Sheaffer, president of CSC's Federal Sector business unit. "We are proud to have achieved these results and we look forward to providing our expertise as this innovative and industry-leading project evolves."

The CSC and Connecting for Health team was selected by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, as one of four consortia to create an NHIN prototype.

"The opportunity to think about a new set of use cases in this prototype was very important, and it highlighted the work that must still be done to continue developing strong policies for protecting information," said Carol Diamond, MD, MPH and managing director of the Markle Foundation. "We need these policies to earn the public's trust in this vital information system."

The team also includes the following organizations: Browsersoft Inc., of Shawnee Mission, Kan.; Business Networks International Inc., of Atlanta, Ga.; the Center for Information Technology Leadership and MA-SHARE, both of Boston, Mass.; DB Consulting Group Inc., of Silver Spring, Md.; the eHealth Initiative, of Washington, D.C.; the Electronic Health Record Vendors Association, of Chicago, Ill.; the Indiana Health Information Exchange and Regenstrief Institute, of Indianapolis, Ind.; Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Wash.; SiloSmashers, of Fairfax, Va.; and Sun Microsystems Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.; Initiate Systems, of Chicago, Ill.; GE Healthcare, of Chalfont St. Giles, United Kingdom; Boston Medical Center and the Children's Hospital Informatics Program, of Boston, Mass.; and a number of other clinical organizations in the three regional communities were also instrumental to the project's overall success.

About Connecting for Health

Connecting for Health, convened and operated by the Markle Foundation since 2002, works to accelerate the development of a health information-sharing environment to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of health care by bringing together private, public, and not-for-profit groups to develop common standards and policies. Together this group of leading government, industry, and health care experts have shaped and led the national debate on creating a health information sharing environment that can make vital information available in a private and secure manner to improve the health and health care of all consumers. In April of 2006, after developing and testing a prototype in Boston, Indianapolis and Mendocino County, California, the Connecting for Health Common Framework: Resources for Implementing Private and Secure Health Information Exchange, was released. The Common Framework provides the initial elements of a comprehensive approach for secure, authorized, and private health information sharing, so that patients and their authorized providers can have access to vital clinical data when and where they are needed. For more information, visit http://www.connectingforhealth.org/.

About CSC in Healthcare

Computer Sciences Corporation's global healthcare business is dedicated to creating superior performance for leading organizations through the solutions and services it provides across the life sciences, provider, payer, federal and state markets. Its mission is to enhance the quality of care delivery and clinical outcomes by providing improved performance through interoperable, standards-based information systems and optimized management processes. The organization has established a worldwide track record of success in helping clients achieve superior results through its innovative solutions and thought leadership.

About CSC

Computer Sciences Corporation is a leading global information technology (IT) services company. CSC's mission is to provide customers in industry and government with solutions crafted to meet their specific challenges and enable them to profit from the advanced use of technology.

With approximately 77,000 employees, CSC provides innovative solutions for customers around the world by applying leading technologies and CSC's own advanced capabilities. These include systems design and integration; IT and business process outsourcing; applications software development; Web and application hosting; and management consulting. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., CSC reported revenue of $14.7 billion for the 12 months ended Dec. 29, 2006. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.csc.com/.

Note to Editors

Below are additional comments from the team's regional healthcare community leaders:

"We demonstrated through the use of common policies and data standards that information exchange among highly heterogeneous organizations and technologies was possible," said Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer for Harvard Medical School and the CareGroup Health Care System. "I believe this demonstration validates that a federated, coordinated, but decentralized, model can work for the country."

"Our work on the prototype has given us additional insight into the technological and policy directions that the Indiana Health Information Exchange and Regenstrief Institute will incorporate into their future work," said Dr. J. Marc Overhage, president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Health Information Exchange. "We are pleased to have contributed to the prototype's development and value the team's collaborative spirit and intellectual energy."

"Our team effort working with the Connecting for Health Common Framework has shown that small, rural and safety net health care enterprises can participate fully in the development of the NHIN," said Will Ross, project manager with Mendocino Health Records Exchange in Northern California. "This project helps improve the quality of open source software solutions for health information exchange on behalf of all American communities, large or small."

Computer Sciences Corporation

CONTACT: Jim Swords, Manager, Media Relations, Federal, +1-703-641-3235,jswords2@csc.com, or Janet Herin, Manager, Media Relations, Corporate,+1-310-615-1693, jherin@csc.com, or Bill Lackey, Director, Investor Relations,Corporate, +1-310-615-1700, blackey3@csc.com, all of Computer SciencesCorporation

Web site: http://www.csc.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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