DOD to boost health system

The Defense Department's Health Affairs office last week awarded two contracts

totaling nearly $400 million to replace DOD's homegrown computer system

with an automated information system.

The five-year contracts went to Base Technologies Inc., McLean, Va.,

for $192 million and United Information Systems Inc., Bethesda, Md., for

$203 million. They are part of Health Affairs' $4 billion Defense Medical

Information Management/Systems Integration, Design, Development, Operations

and Maintenance Services (D/SIDDOMS) II program.

DOD has split D/SIDDOMS II into four parts, or lots. This is the third

set of awards under Lot IV, which has been set aside for small businesses.

Lot I, which involves studies and analyses, is expected to be awarded later

this month.

Under the Lot IV contracts, the two companies will be involved in developing

software and hardware for the Military Health Services System. The project

is expected to be completed by May 5, 2005.

Greg Ayres, senior vice president for health care at Base Technologies,

said the company will focus on "new technologies and architecture for the

system" and improve the system's security. Base Technologies' largest commercial

contract is the integration of systems for Kaiser Permanente's mid-Atlantic

region.

One of the top goals of D/SIDDOMS II is to make it easier to share information.

Managed care companies such as Kaiser Permanente have adopted that approach

to help control health care costs.