Harris Corporation Awarded $5.3M Contract To Integrate New Medical Coding Standards For U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs

Highlights

• Harris will support the VA's migration to new coding standards in time for Oct.1, 2013 transition.
• Transition to ICD-10 standards will improve VA billing and payment processes for veterans.
• Contract marks first time Harris will work with the VA Health Administration Center.

MELBOURNE, Fla. & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, a $5.3 million contract to provide remediation to the VA's Health Administration Center (HAC) Cache System to address new medical coding standards. This is a two-year contract with three optional tasks.

International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) Codes are used to classify diseases and other medical problems under a single standard and promote international comparability with treatment and billing. As part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 5010 transition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mandated that all covered healthcare entities be ICD-10 compliant by Oct. 1, 2013.

With the VA's large patient population, implementation of ICD-10 coding standards will allow the HAC to produce more accurate records as well as conduct more detailed population assessments and studies. Additionally, the ICD-10 migration will improve the HAC's payment systems for veterans and their family members with more accurate billing information. The Harris team, along with subcontractors 7 Delta Inc. and Vangent Inc., will complete all phases of the ICD-10 integration and software development life cycle.

"The ICD-10 transition will enable the HAC to improve the accuracy and efficiency of claims processing for veterans and their family members," said Jim Traficant, president, Harris Healthcare. "By migrating to ICD-10, the Health Administration Center continues to lead the healthcare industry in adopting the latest standards to better serve our veterans."

A nationally recognized leader in federal healthcare IT integration, Harris also offers commercial providers a full range of interoperability solutions, including IT infrastructure and management, clinical workflow and analytics, health information exchange, and imaging. Harris solutions improve healthcare quality, safety, efficiency, cost and outcomes by ensuring that the right information travels, with security and privacy, to the right person, at the right time, on the right device, at the point of care.

About Harris Corporation
Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $6 billion of annual revenue and more than 16,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications® products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.

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