Generational turnover in MMIS makes the time right for health IT

Reston, VA (Vocus) August 20, 2008 -- With contracts expiring for as many as 21 state Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) over the next five years, now is the time for vendors to push for health IT enhancements, according to a new report recently released by INPUT, the authority on government business. State Medicaid programs are expected to disburse $380 billion in the coming year. This amounts to nearly 22% of all state spending.

"State MMIS systems are primitive health information exchanges (HIEs)," said Kristina Mulholland, analyst for health care and social services at INPUT. "Since there has been a lack of major progress with private efforts in this area, the states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will have to continue making the investments here. We've already seen this with CMS's Medicaid Transformation Grants."

INPUT expects MMIS's to become the center of gravity for IT supporting state health IT and "e-health" efforts. The Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) and the Medicaid Maturity Model (MMM) are also guiding the modernization of MMIS systems toward a flexible, quality-based orientation. However, these transformative tools and standards are only in their early stages.

"Vendors should not worry that the train has left the station. We're talking about a process that will run ten years or more. But, numerous states will be seeking to issue proposals for preliminary systems planning services over the next year or two, so now is the time for vendors to begin making their names known in this space," said Mulholland.

These findings and others were released in an INPUT Industry Insights Report, ''

>http://www.input.com/corp/library/detail.cfm?ItemID=6824&sourceid=11&cmp=OTC-healthitwebinar082108 [Vendors Seeking Health IT Opportunities will Find Them in State Medicaid Systems].'' More details are available http://www.input.com/corp/library/detail.cfm?ItemID=6824&sourceid=11&cmp=OTC-healthitwebinar082108 [here].

INPUT's http://www.input.com/corp/events_webinar/20080821_medicaid.cfm?sourceid=11&cmp=OTC-healthitwebinar082108 [Analyst Webinar - Medicaid: Leading the Health IT Transformation] will be held Thursday, August 21, from 2:00-3:00pm EST. Join us to discuss how states are making investments to facilitate health information exchange through their Medicaid information systems. For more information or to register, please http://www.input.com/corp/events_webinar/20080821_medicaid.cfm?sourceid=11&cmp=OTC-healthitwebinar082108 [click here].

EDITOR'S NOTE: To speak with the report author regarding this release, please contact Helena Brito at hbrito@input.com or 703-707-4161.

About INPUT
http://www.input.com/default.cfm [INPUT] is the authority on government business. Established in 1974, INPUT helps companies develop federal, state, and local government business and helps public sector organizations achieve their objectives. Over 1,300 member organizations, including small specialized companies, new entrants to the public sector, and the largest government contractors and agencies, rely on INPUT for the latest and most comprehensive procurement and market information, consulting, powerful sales management tools, and educational & networking events. For more information about INPUT, visit www.input.com] or call 703-707-3500.

Proper use of name is INPUT

###

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Medicaid/Health_IT/prweb1228554.htm