The National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded $9 million in grants to five collaborative groups, including one for healthcare exchange, to demonstrate how online transactions can be secure and private as part of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF), a non-profit organization that exists to help men and women who come home with emotional and physical wounds after serving our country, is providing approximately $1 MILLION worth of diabetic and allergy medicine and supplies to Veterans Service Providers, the first to receive some of this medicine is the South Atlantic Center for Veterans Education and Training, Inc. (SACVET) for distribution to homeless and struggling Veterans.

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced Friday that it has awarded a $20.75 million Health Care Innovation Challenge grant to a collaborative partnership that includes VHA Inc., the national health care network; TransforMED, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians; and, Phytel, Inc., a technology company that leads the field in automated, provider-led population health improvement solutions. The grant will fund a three-year national project involving health care systems, hospitals, and provider practices throughout 16 communities. The goal of the project is to expand the concept of the Patient-Centered Medical Home to the Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood and connect acute-care hospitals with primary care, specialty and subspecialty practices to drive better quality and superior patient experience at a more affordable cost.

As of September 30th, 2010 there were 22.7 million U.S. veterans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this past March revealed an unemployment rate of 12.1% in 2011 for the "post-9/11" veterans, which is significantly higher than the overall U.S. unemployment rate of 8.3%. With the unemployment rate of veterans still on the rise, getting an accurate disability rating is increasingly important since it has a direct impact on the amount of monthly compensation the veteran receives.

The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM), Global Combat Support Systems—Marine Corps (GCSS-MC) Logistics Information Systems Office (LIS) has awarded CGI Federal Inc. (CGI), a wholly-owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI Group Inc. (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) a contract renewal worth US$20.16 million over a five year period to provide post-deployment software support for the Storage Retrieval Automated Tracking Integrated System (STRATIS).

Continua Health Alliance, an industry organization of healthcare and technology companies dedicated to improving the quality of personal healthcare, and the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced that they will work together to expand standards-based connectivity technology in the health IT industry.

A coalition of nine technology companies, three major insurers and 12 health care provider organizations launched the five-year, $100 million project.

The organization's new president, Edward Brown, MD, looks at the coming year and sees "great things" for the technologies, including "telemedicine everywhere."

Orion Health, a provider of eHealth technology, today announced the release of Orion Health Mobile, providing clinical staff with real-time secure access to relevant and accurate patient information from their Apple mobile devices.