Accenture to Help ONC with Data Exchange

Consulting and services firm Accenture will help the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology identify standards and specifications to facilitate the exchange of health data under a two-year contract announced on Jan. 18.

Accenture and ONC declined to disclose the value of the contract.

Reston, Va.-based Accenture will work with ONC to develop and manage "uses cases," or business scenarios, to provide information for development of information systems requirements and specifications for interoperability. Uses cases will focus on patient-related information, such as the ability of a certified electronic health records system to handle patient requests for clinical summaries.

The goal is development of a framework that will establish a set of tools, processes and reusable components that enable refinement and adoption of interoperability standards for EHRs, and regional, statewide and national health information exchanges.

--Joseph Goedert