Microsoft Readies Two New Biztalk Accelerators

The software vendor plans to unveil version two of its HIPAA accelerator on Tuesday and ship it at the end of the month. The release spruces up management and focuses on easing claims management and processing, said Julia White, product manager at Microsoft. The new HIPAA version also will enable more automated attachment and processing of ancillary records, she added.

"This will enable a doctor, when submitting claims, to attach lab results, X-rays and blood work [to the claim to help the insurer determine if it's payable or meets criteria without having to do a bunch of back-and-forth [submissions," White said.

HIPAA, enacted by the federal government in 1996, mandates that medical records be private and secure. The law also is designed to minimize fraud and long wait times for new employees wanting health-care coverage.

Next week, Microsoft is expected to unveil a new BizTalk accelerator for financial services. The software, due to be released next month, is designed to support the emerging ISO-backed SWIFT standard for straight-through processing of financial transactions.

SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a Brussels, Belgium-based financial services industry cooperative that provides secure messaging services and interface software to global financial institutions. Its XML-based standard minimizes human interaction and speeds capital transactions, White said.

As with the current HIPAA and RosettaNet accelerators, the standard editions of the new accelerators, supporting one processor, will cost $5,000, according to Microsoft. Enterprise versions, which support multiple processors along with 10 internal application connections and five external application connections, cost $20,000 per processor.