Vangent to build HHS health care software

Vangent Inc. will provide new patient-information software to the Health and Human Services Department under a four-year contract worth nearly $11 million.

The award from HHS’ Indian Health Service calls for the contractor to design, build and test a customized software solution for IHS that can provide integrated patient information across multiple populations.

IHS is the principal federal health care provider for about 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives – a population that has some of the highest disease rates of any group in the United States.

IHS tracks and analyzes patient information through its Resource and Patient Management System, an electronic database that includes clinical, administrative and financial patient information that is accessed through an integrated suite of more than 60 software components.

Under this contract, Vangent will continue to provide technical services to enhance RPMS’ clinical decision support, knowledge management and population health management capabilities in accordance with this initiative and with other national health priorities, Vangent officials said.

As it develops, tests and releases iCare 2.0, Vangent will continue to support iCare version 1.1. The software’s critical patient care elements include the capacity to catalogue trends in health care delivery, allowing physicians and researchers to identify current or emerging health threats and improve preventive care methods for a variety of diseases.

Vangent officials said the new application will improve the capabilities of previous versions, including the ability to rapidly create and manage user-defined patient lists, compare them to national clinical performance measures, and establish fully integrated health maintenance and treatment reminders on a per-patient or list basis.

Vangent, of Arlington, Va., ranks No. 57 on Washington Technology’s 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.