First Offset program likely to for the health sector

The governmental Offset Committee will most probably confirm the list of compensation programs, which will be realized on a fast track, that is, those which would be implemented by the end of 2004. The value of the offset, which is related to the purchase of 48 F16s, exceeds $6 billion. One of the most probable projects to be shortlisted is the electronic Registry of Medical Services (RUM). The partners to domestic companies would be Lockheed Martin, LM Mission Systems, Atmel, Express Scripts, and IBM. RUM, which will collect data concerning the medical care market and also provide information concerning all patients, register expenditures of the health system, and monitor medicine distributed on the market. According to initial estimates the project costs during the first three years will reach $200 million. The annual savings from the investment are estimated around 10% of the total health care budget. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) A.K.