HHS names Nitor Group for NHIN bridge contract
HHS has hired Nitor Group on a bridge contract to help prepare for a series of competitive task orders for the Nationwide Health Information Network by year's end.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has named Nitor Group LLC as the sole-source contractor to help move the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) into production status.
The NHIN is a pilot project of the Health and Human Services Department to facilitate secure health information exchange. It is currently being used for several demonstrations by federal agencies and private providers.
The health IT national coordinator’s office, which is part of HHS, identified Nitor Group as the awardee in a Nov. 10 announcement on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site. The contract amount was not published.
Under the bridge contract, Nitor will provide support services to continue ongoing work on strategy, governance, technical requirements, and facilitation processes to move the NHIN toward readiness.
The goal is to provide expertise to bridge the gap between the existing contract vehicle and an upcoming full and open competition to be held at the end of the year. By then there will be a series of task orders awarded to advance the NHIN to full production, the notice said.
While the Nitor contract is being sole-sourced, other companies are invited to submit capability statements and express concerns.