HHS Awards Contracts for Trial Implementations of the Nationwide Health Information Network

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced the award of contracts totaling $22.5 million to nine health information exchanges (HIEs) to begin trial implementations of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). These contracts will create a secure foundation for basic health information exchange between select HIEs upon which more complex functions will be possible over time. This work will advance the nation toward the President's goal of most Americans having access to secure electronic health records by 2014, by creating a secure foundation for health information exchange that can follow Americans throughout their lives.

HIEs are networks that securely connect electronic health records for providers and patients. Together, these HIEs will form the "network of networks," that will form the NHIN. The NHIN trial implementations will leverage recent accomplishments of HHS, its contractors and partners, including: the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) and the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS).