The contract, awarded by the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) and the Delaware Health Care Commission, builds on the nearly $5 million in federal funding that Senators Joe Biden and Tom Carper and US representative Mike Castle have secured.

Medicity will team with Plano, Texas-based Perot Systems to deliver specific infrastructure portions of the project to the DHIN. Perot Systems will provide data center services, technical and provider help desks and outreach training, as well as on-site customer service.

By expanding the use of the latest health information technology and giving health practitioners access to immediate, up-to-date information, we can save lives, reduce medical errors and cut healthcare costs, stated Senator Tom Carper.

The intent of the DHIN clinical information exchange utility is to provide secure, fast, and reliable exchange of health information among the many healthcare providers treating patients in Delaware. First to connect to the network will be Bayhealth Medical Center, Beebe Medical Center, Christiana Care Health System and LabCorp along with physician practices across the state.

Because of Delaware’s size and collaborative nature, the first phase of the project is expected to go live within the next nine months.

The utility will provide a streamlined results distribution system. Currently, healthcare providers receive lab, radiology and other test results via telephone, fax, courier, and in some cases through a web portal that the provider must sign into and query for his/her patient’s test results.

The utility will allow the provider to decide in what format he/she wants to receive all test results and will deliver them to the provider in real-time based on their chosen method, regardless at which participating entity the test was performed.