IBM Launches Global Interoperable Test System for Electronic Health Records
IBM officials on Monday said that the company is developing a test system to help identify the best standards for sharing electronic medical information among health care providers, insurance companies and patients, the AP/Virginian-Pilot reports. The test project -- the Interoperable Health Information Infrastructure -- will use a variety of real and false data to determine the best way to establish an interoperable system and work out problems that might arise before the network is deployed globally, according to Neil de Crescenzo, IBM Business Consulting Services' health care industry leader.
The test project will connect IBM sites in San Jose, Calif.; Rochester, Minn.; and Haifa, Israel. The program also will attempt to mimic scenarios such as a biological attack or emerging epidemic, IBM research manager James Kaufman said. He added, "Provid[ed] that the standards are correct and that the designs will work requires that we stress test such a system." Kaufman also discussed privacy concerns, saying, "IBM has a lot of experience in financial data, in creating technology to secure data and to ensure privacy. There's also a role of government in regulating people who are holding data and responsible for the sharing of it. We need to talk about both." The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year (Fordahl, AP/Virginian-Pilot, 4/25).