Keeping up with changes in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) messaging standards is becoming more challenging. Many governmental agencies, payers, and benefits managers now require adoption of ePrescription, new versions of HIPAA X12 transactions, and electronic health records.
Cisco® Application-Oriented Networking (AON) Healthcare Services Extension for HIPAA and ePrescription is an innovative approach to healthcare information exchange. This solution greatly simplifies the secure transport, transformation, and reliable delivery of HIPAA-compliant messages directly between healthcare providers, payers, benefits managers, and governmental agencies over the Internet. It provides the ideal platform for secure, reliable information exchange over the Internet to support:
• Improved delivery and management of patient care
• Benefits enrollment and eligibility verification
• Claims
• Billing
• Electronic prescriptions
• Other administrative functions
Key Features and Benefits
Designed to meet the demanding operations requirements of healthcare providers, Cisco AON Healthcare Services Extension for HIPAA and ePrescription replaces legacy server-based messaging, transformation, and data security software with a reliable and scalable network-embedded platform. It eliminates the need for virtual private networks (VPNs), dedicated leased line and dial-up private networks, and proprietary value-added networks (VANs) for HIPAA-compliant health information exchange.
This complete, easily deployed solution includes:
• Full support for HIPAA-compliant X12 and National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) message transformation and delivery
• Secure, reliable, interoperable information exchange of any document regardless of type over the Internet, including HL7 and DICOM, using proven, interoperable message transport standards-HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)1 with support for payload encryption, digital signatures, reliable delivery, and client authentication and authorization
• A simplified Web-based management console for centrally provisioning, managing, and monitoring HIPAA-compliant document exchange over the Internet
• An integrated hardware/software system with built-in support for clustering, load-balancing, and lights-out operations to simplify operations and reduce the total cost of ownership
• Direct integration to healthcare information systems using application integration protocols such as Java Message Service (JMS), Web Services (WS), and Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) and direct file system access for document delivery/pickup using Network File System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS)
• Simple-to-use policy-driven execution framework for system extension and customization, including a workflow designer for message workflow modification
• Application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) for end-customer or third-party development of additional functionality using Java
• Cisco Unified Communications integration support for policy-driven notification of critical information
Cisco AON Healthcare Services Extension for HIPAA and ePrescription provides a prebuilt, telecommunications-grade infrastructure for secure, reliable delivery of any document or message format, including HL7 and DICOM messages. It is ideally suited for Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs), Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), and Healthcare Information Networks (HINs). The network-centered approach provides a much more cost-effective, secure, and reliable information exchange infrastructure than an organization can possibly achieve through traditional server software-based solutions.
Cisco® AON is available in multiple form factors, which can be selected based on network topology and performance requirements. Three of these form factors are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Cisco AON Form Factors
Branch Office
Network Module for Cisco 2800/3700/3800 Routers
Single-core 1 GHz Intel 373 Celeron-M CPU, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB hard disk drive
CADE-1010 Integrated Single-Core Appliance
Single-core Intel D352 3.2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB hard disk drive
Enterprise Data Center
CADE-2142 Integrated Dual Quad-Core Appliance
2 Quad-Core Intel E5320 1.86 GHz CPUs, Up to 18 GB RAM, Up to 735 GB hard disk drive
Availability
Cisco Application-Oriented Networking Healthcare Services Extension for HIPAA and ePrescription will be available April 2008.
System Requirements
Cisco Application-Oriented Networking Software version 3.0 and associated hardware is required. See http://www.cisco.com/go/aon for more information.
Ordering Information
Table 1 contains ordering information for Cisco AON Healthcare Services Extension for HIPAA and ePrescription.
Table 1. Ordering Information
Product Name
Part Number
AON Healthcare Services Extension HIPAA/ePrescription 1.0 for AON Network Module
FL-AON-HSEMHNM-K9
AON Healthcare Services Extension HIPAA/ePrescription 1.0 for AON Network Module (Spare)
FL-AON-HSEMHNM-K9=
AON Healthcare Services Extension HIPAA/ePrescription 1.0 for Cisco Application Deployment Engine (CADE)
FL-AON-HSEMHIP-K9
AON Healthcare Services Extension HIPAA/ePrescription 1.0 for Cisco Application Deployment Engine (CADE) (Spare)
FL-AON-HSEMHIP-K9=
To order, contact your Cisco account representative.
Service and Support
Support programs including Cisco SMARTnet® Service and Software Application Support (SAS) are available as part of the Cisco AON solution. Cisco AON products can optionally be bundled with Cisco Advanced Services that will accelerate your time to deployment and help ensure a high-quality, reliable implementation.
For More Information
For more information about Cisco AON Healthcare Services Extensions, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/ahse, contact your local Cisco account representative, or send email to ask-ahse-pm@cisco.com.
1This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit. For more details please visit the following website: http://www.openssl.org/.
