Guest Article: Secure message exchange using the Direct Protocol is not a myth, there really are people using it

I recently chaired a couple of conferences and my next HealthIMPACT event is coming up later this month in NYC. At each one of the events and many times a year via twitter and e-mail I am asked whether the Direct Project is successful, worth implementing in health IT projects, and if there are many people sending secure messages using Direct. To help answer these questions, I reached out to Rachel A. Lunsford, Director of Product Management at Amida Technologies. Amida has amassed an impressive team of engineers to focus on health IT for patient-centered care so their answer will be well grounded in facts. Here’s what Rachel said when I asked whether Direct is a myth or if it’s real and in use: Despite wide adoption in 44 States, there is a perception that Direct is not widely used. In a recent conversation, we discussed a potential Direct secure messaging implementation with a client when they expressed concern about being a rare adopter of Direct messaging.  While the team reassured them that their organization would in fact be joining a rich ecosystem of adopters, they still asked us to survey the market. In 2012, the Officer of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) awarded grants to State Health Information Exchanges to further the exchange of health information. There are two primary ways to exchange information: directed and query-based. ‘Directed’ exchange is what it sounds like – healthcare providers can send secure messages with ...
Source: The Healthcare IT Guy - Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs