Only a relatively small number of vendors are able to claim a proven, repeatable health information exchange (HIE) model, according to a report from KLAS, a healthcare market research firm. In total, the report highlights the commercial HIE models from 22 vendors, most of which have one, two or three validated sites.

It is impossible to imagine a high-performing U.S. health system that does not take full advantage of the computing technology that has transformed virtually every other aspect of human endeavor, wrote National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal, MD, in a commentary published Feb. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Health IT company McKesson has unveiled Practice Partner Connect, a health information exchange (HIE) interoperability platform, as a part of version 9.3.3. of Practice Partner.

Health information exchange (HIE) company Medicity has been awarded a patent for its agent-grid technology for HIEs by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The agent-grid technology is a main component for Medicity's HIE integration program Novo Grid.

InSite One announced it successfully tested its Actor/Roles profiles at the recent 2010 Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Connectathon North America.

The Western Colorado communities of Aspen and Montrose have been added to the Quality Health Network health information exchange (HIE), according to HIE company Axolotl. The expansion will allow more than 20 hospitals and attendant physicians in the 40,000 square miles of Western Colorado to share clinical information, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

Change is everywhere. Opportunity is here. The theme of this months HIMSS annual meeting has us shaking our heads and saying to ourselves I sure hope sowe hope opportunity is here, its time! For sure, opportunity awaits in the four days of preconference and educational sessions, specialty activities, networking events and career development opportunities that HIMSS has put together this year for the annual meeting in Atlanta and across the vast exhibit show floor. Educational sessions promise actionable information on achieving higher levels of cost efficiencies, EMR adoption, privacy and security, CPOE and quality and patient safety.

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) interoperability efforts continue but the interagency program needs to implement improvements, according to a January report by the General Accountability Office (GAO).