The foundation of a health records association launched aproject geared specifically to nursing homes.

 The project from the Foundation of Research and Education(FORE) will apply government-approved standards to the nursing home MinimumData Set (MDS). It will validate the accuracy and impact of the application ofthese standards, and develop guidance for using accepted standards for theexchange of standardized assessment and patient summary data. FORE is thefoundation of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

As a result of the project, post-acute and long-term carevendors and providers will be able to develop and implement functionalelectronic health records and health information technology products in theemerging nationwide health information network, the association said.