The Department of Health and Human Services has upgraded the government's Connect software to improve information security for exchanging health data. Connect is federally developed software that lets agencies and healthcare organizations share health data that is part of the nationwide health information network (NHIN).

HHS is trying to develop improvements in the Connect gateway quickly so it can serve as an early model of the NHIN, executives said at a webinar, according to an article in govhealthit.com. The improvements to the software include a new graphical user interface that allows provider organizations to mark consumer preferences for the data. This includes whether information can be shared, and who is authorized to access it.

The latest Connect version strengthens security by using the same protocols in the interface between the healthcare organization and the Connect gateway, the report noted.

For more on maximizing security for Connect:
- check out this govhealthit.com article

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