The Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative is offering various incentives to encourage greater use of health information exchange technology in the state, MedCity News reports.
The organization is offering:
- One year of no-cost implementation of the Direct Project's clinical messaging protocol to small health care providers; and
- $250 incentives to health information service providers for every health care provider they register to participate in the Direct Project's messaging program (Baum, MedCity News, 7/26).
About the Direct Project
The Direct Project is a streamlined version of the Nationwide Health Information Network. NwHIN is a set of standards, specifications and services that offers a common platform for data exchange between disparate entities.
The Direct Project aims to facilitate online, standards-based exchange of medical data between health care providers (iHealthBeat, 7/25).
Details of Pennsylvania Initiative
Pennsylvania health care providers who currently use fax machines or the postal service to exchange health data are eligible to sign up for the no-cost implementation of the Direct Project protocols. Such providers must register with a state-approved and certified health information service provider program by Aug. 15.
Robert Torres, Pennsylvania's state health IT coordinator, said that about 300 health care providers had registered for the program as of mid-July. The Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative estimates that up to 8,000 health care providers could participate in the initiative (MedCity News, 7/26).