MCLEAN, Va., March 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has successfully deployed the first-ever, bidirectional, real-time patient electronic record-sharing capability between the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The objective of the project, called the Bidirectional Health Information Exchange (BHIE), is improving health-care delivery and customer satisfaction for the patients that the departments care for around the country.
"The operational deployment of the BHIE is another step in supporting the national health-information infrastructure concepts," said Michele Kang, vice president of Health Solutions for Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector. "In addition, this bidirectional information exchange directly addresses an identified need in the 1998 Presidential Review Directive 5, which encouraged the two agencies to start developing a comprehensive, life-long medical record for service members and veterans."
"The efficiency with which this bidirectional capability was implemented is a testament to the benefit of extending existing operational capabilities to meet critical needs, assuring real time health information exchange in support of military health system beneficiaries and veterans," said Phil Dederer, DoD program manager.
Northrop Grumman IT has created a national health-information technology infrastructure for the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments that enables the agencies' computer systems to exchange patient health information. This information exchange facilitates sharing of clinical services and resources; reduces the time to obtain data; provides easier access to data and treatment histories; supports operational medicine; enhances standardization of care; contributes to continuity of care; and extends the value of each agency's legacy computer systems.
"Our solution comprises domain expertise in health information management and enterprise technology," said Wood Parker, president of the IT sector's Federal Enterprise Solutions business unit. "We are leveraging our experience with the federal health information exchange to more fully support critical information sharing needs between federal agencies."
Work on the contract is performed at the Northrop Grumman facility in Reston, Va.
Northrop Grumman is a trusted integrator of advanced health solutions, including health and benefits management systems and information security. The company's services span the public health, healthcare delivery and life sciences domains, and include cutting-edge information exchange for electronic health records, Web-enabled workflow processing and large-scale information management. Northrop Grumman has developed a range of military health solutions applicable and adaptable for today's emerging national priorities.
Northrop Grumman Information Technology, headquartered in McLean, Va., is a trusted IT leader and premier provider of advanced IT solutions, engineering and business services for government and commercial clients. The company's technological leadership spans such areas as health IT solutions, homeland security solutions, secure wireless, cyber and physical assurance, IT and network infrastructure, managed services, knowledge management, modeling and simulation, and geospatial intelligence solutions.