[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 116 (Friday, June 17, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14776]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 17, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No. 940370-4070]

Announcement of an Opportunity To Join a Cooperative Research and 
Development Agreement on Healthcare Information Technology 
Architecture Standards (HITAS)

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
invites interested parties to participate in a Cooperative Research and 
Development Agreement (CRADA) to establish a healthcare information 
system. The infrastructure will include application platform, 
application software, storage, human/computer interaction, and 
communication technologies. It will share medical information while 
maintaining confidentiality of patient data.
    Through the CRADA, called the ``Forum on Healthcare Information 
Technology Architecture Standards'', NIST will provide the mechanism 
for industry and users to resolve standards-related technical issues 
that currently inhibit deployment of medical information technology 
products. Parties interested in participating in the CRADA should be 
prepared to invest adequate resources in the collaboration and be 
firmly committed to the goal of rapid development and deployment of new 
healthcare information technology.
    The program will be within the scope and confines of The Federal 
Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502, 15 U.S.C. 3710a), 
which provides federal laboratories including NIST, with the authority 
to enter into cooperative research agreements with qualified parties. 
Under this law, NIST may contribute personnel, equipment and 
facilities--but no funds--to the cooperative research program. Members 
will be expected to make a contribution to the forum's efforts in the 
form of materials, equipment, personnel, and/or funds. The program is 
expected to last three years. This is not a grant program.

DATES: Detailed planning for the consortium began on March 1, 1994. 
Interested parties should contact NIST to confirm their interest at the 
address, telephone number or FAX number shown below no later than July 
15, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Mr. F. Schulz, Building 225, Room B-266, National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Mr. F. Schulz, Telephone: 301-975-2192; 
FAX 301-926-3696.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) invites interested parties to participate in a forum 
to establish a healthcare information system infrastructure. Through 
the CRADA, NIST will provide a venue and process for industry and users 
to resolve standards-related technical issues.
    This project is based upon a shared, global vision of a large scale 
distributed healthcare information infrastructure which will encompass 
application platform, application software, storage, human/computer 
interaction, and communication technologies, integrated via object 
oriented middleware. The new infrastructure will share medical 
information while maintaining the security and confidentiality of 
patient data.
    The CRADA will also provide links among the user requirement-driven 
Open Systems Environment Implementors Workshop (OIW), the consensus-
driven base standards community, and the market-driven technical 
community to reduce time-to-market for complex technical products 
requiring simultaneous consensus in a variety of technical areas.
    International market input from the workshops and the standards 
community are crucial to meeting government and industry objectives for 
common solutions across the global marketplace. Coordination with 
accredited U.S. and international standards groups is an important 
aspect of this partnership.
    Participants will be assured of the technical and economic 
feasibility of the resultant technical products. This will accelerate 
acceptance of the specifications, promote rapid development of 
commercial products, and contribute to earlier deployment of technology 
to meet user needs.

    Dated: June 13, 1994.
Samuel Kramer,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 94-14776 Filed 6-16-94; 8:45 am]
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