The Direct Project recently began operations in Rhode Island and Minnesota, allowing physicians from smaller practices to begin sharing electronic health records with each other, according to Government Health IT. The announcement marks a milestone in the government’s efforts to create a national health information exchange.
The project was launched by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT as part of an effort to make the benefits of electronic health records available to practices that may not have the resources available to adopt a major system.
It works by allowing providers to share records via a secure email system. Its launch in Rhode Island and Minnesota is expected to be followed shortly by programs in New York, Tennessee, California, Connecticut and Texas.
David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health IT, told the news source that the program was designed to "get the simplest, most practical, irreducible level of workable interoperability available as an option. The view here is, if you can do it by paper or fax, you should be able to do it electronically."
The program may also help practices meet some of the requirements of meaningful use in advance of the incentive program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is set to begin issuing payments as early as April.