HHS tests exchanging personal medical data over Internet

The Health and Human Services Department’s open-source Direct Project development program for secure health data exchange over the Internet has started operating in two states, Minnesota and Rhode Island, and will launch demonstration projects in six more states, officials have announced.

The Direct Project is an offshoot of HHS’ Nationwide Health Information Network, a set of protocols for secure health data exchange between federal health agencies. Direct Project started last year with HHS support to spur health data exchange among a larger group of participants. Earlier, a similar effort was known as the NHIN Direct project.