Press Room

( Dublin, OH )—CMHC Systems, a recognized leader in the development and delivery of information technology to the healthcare and human services industries and an active force in a nationwide education effort for compliance with the technological and privacy standards set forth by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is pleased to announce an alliance with Spherion® Corporation, a recruitment, outsourcing and technology solutions provider. CMHC Systems has entered into the agreement with the Technology Group of Spherion to resell its consulting services to CMHC customers who are looking to analyze and upgrade their current network technology in order to fully meet the terms of the upcoming HIPAA standards.

To comply with the new operational, technology and privacy standards set forth by HIPAA, healthcare companies must implement the Electronic Standardization regulations by October 16, 2002, and the Privacy regulations by April 14, 2003. The services provided by Spherion will help customers determine what modifications are necessary to meet the needs of the HIPAA regulations and CMHC's new products such as eCET (electronic Clinical Expert Technology), BUI, graphical browser user interface, and RDB/MIS, CMHC's relational database architecture. In addition to consulting services, Spherion can also install necessary network components and provide management tools to enable a smooth and complete enhancement process.

Tim Rash, CMHC Systems Vice President of Customer Support is anticipating significant results of the CMHC Systems/Spherion relationship. "Our alliance with Spherion adds substantially to our ability to assist our customers in preparing their infrastructure to support our new generation of products and upcoming HIPAA electronic standardization regulations."

Coupled with CMHC Systems' 23 years of solid experience and the respected reputation of its CMHC/MIS software, the partnership with Spherion is both inventive and dynamic.

"Both CMHC and Spherion have taken an active and responsible role in adequately preparing healthcare companies' IT systems for the upcoming standardization and privacy deadlines as part of the HIPAA regulations," said Wayne Mincey, president of the Technology Group of Spherion. "Spherion is pleased to team with CMHC and provide its HIPAA-related services to better help CMHC clients properly comply with these important technological and procedural regulations."

Spherion is committed to solving HIPAA issues by reducing the overall cost, facilitating faster compliance objectives and ensuring a high level of confidence among healthcare organizations regarding the completion of the compliance procedures. The company employs and trains very high level, experienced project managers that have a background in large-scale projects across multiple vertical industries.

The services offered by Spherion include the administration of a program management office, application integration, process audit and testing, network integration and security and education and training.

The partnership with Spherion further demonstrates CMHC Systems' dedication to the progress of technology in the healthcare and human services industries. In addition, CMHC Systems is hosting a second installation of its national HIPAA education conference, HIPAA Road Map - How Do I Get There From Here? The conference debuted this past January in Boston and continues in response to rave reviews and industry praise as one of the most educational forums popular of its kind.

About Spherion

Spherion Corporation provides Recruitment, Outsourcing and Technology services. Founded in 1946, with operations in North America , Europe and Asia Pacific, Spherion helps companies efficiently plan, acquire and optimize talent to improve their bottom line. Visit the Company's Web site at www.spherion.com/technology.

About CMHC Systems

Since 1978, CMHC Systems has pioneered the development of technology and management information systems for human service organizations. Using browser-based software and operating under UNIX, the CMHC/MIS combines a powerful multi-tasking system with Internet technology to create a graphical environment allowing quick and easy system navigation. CMHC Systems has helped provide information management solutions to more than 500 organizations with 650 sites in 42 states and more than 30,000 end-users.

For more information about CMHC Systems or HIPAA Road Map, write