Medicity to nurture Delaware health network

Medicity Inc. will build a statewide health information exchange for Delaware under a six-year contract, expected to be worth about $25 million, officials said Thursday.

Under the contract, Medicity of Salt Lake City will construct a health network to give physicians instant electronic access to patient information at the time medical service is provided.

The six-year contract has four option years, said Sarah McCloskey, a spokeswoman for the Delaware Health Care Commission. The commission has budgeted $3.6 million for the first year of the project, but the final dollar value of the project is still being negotiated, she said.

Perot Systems Corp., a subcontractor on the project, will furnish data center services, technical and provider help desks, outreach training and onsite customer service. Perot Systems ranks No. 44 on Washington Technology's 2006 Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.

The project draws on funding from health care organizations and federal and state government.

The state legislature created the Delaware Health Information Network as an electronic data interchange for public and private use. The Delaware Health Care Commission, a public-private partnership, runs it.