Bids being Reviewed for $100 million Healthcare Data System in California

The California Regional Health Information Organization, aka CalRHIO by those in the know, issued an RFP in mid-December for a statewide health information interchange.  They deadline has closed, and CalRHIO has started the review process.

The proposed $100 million IT network would create a "utility-like infrastructure" for health care data in California.

Big names in medical technology responded to the call: Accenture, Covisint, CSC, a partnership between IBM and Axolotl Corp., McKesson, Medicity, Sun Microsystems and Wellogic.

Karen Hunt, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based nonprofit, told the San Francisco<i>Business Times</i> the project is likely to cost more than $100 million over seven years.

The idea is to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of health care in California – which could ultimately save California $9 billion annually.

CalRHIO expects to make a selection by mid-March, officials said.