Direct Project Gathers Steam, Finalizes Protocol

Ken Terry | Fierce Health IT | March 21, 2011

More than 60 healthcare and health IT organizations, including state-based and private sector health information exchanges, leading IT vendors, and several leading integrated delivery systems, are supporting or plan to support the Direct Project, a national standardized protocol for secure clinical messaging. The Direct Project was developed by a private-public consortium that includes the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

According to Doug Fridsma, MD, an ONC official, the health IT vendors backing the Direct Project will bring along 90 percent of their customer base--evidently by providing them with software updates. In addition, the 20 states participating in the Direct Project represent nearly half of the U.S population, Fridsma noted...