The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has launched in Minnesota and Rhode Island the first pilot demonstrations of the Direct Project for simple electronic health information exchanges, Modern Healthcare reports (McKinney, Modern Healthcare, 2/2).
Direct Project Details
The Direct Project is a streamlined version of the Nationwide Health Information Network and is designed to help health care providers with limited resources meet criteria for the meaningful use program. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said the Direct Project is "part of the escalator for exchange and interoperability, which is part of the overall escalator for meaningful use."
Current Pilots
Arien Malec, coordinator of the Direct Project, said Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota has begun sending immunization records to the Minnesota Department of Health through health information services provider VisionShare.
The Rhode Island Quality Institute established a health information exchange with members of the Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corp. and Polaris Medical Management. The institute also will send clinical information from practice-based EHRs to the statewide health information exchange Currentcare.
Future Programs in the Works
Malec said later this month, pilot programs under the Direct Project will launch in:
- California;
- New York; and
- Tennessee.
He added that Connecticut and Texas will launch pilots later this year (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 2/2).