In a December 2012 webinar, we asked 70 attendees whether they had heard of the Direct Project [1]The Direct Project was launched by the ONC within Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 1, 2010. It was initially called NHIN Direct. The object of the Direct Project is to replace the use of faxes, phones, and paper transactions with a simple and.... 55% stated that they had not. My prediction is that both Direct and IHE-based Web Services [2]Web services are a standardized way of integrating applications. Using open standards, businesses can communicate without in-depth knowledge of one another’s systems, beyond the communication protocol. Because all communication is XML-based, web se... will see significant adoption in 2013, to the point where more the 90% of our customers will be evaluating one of these options for external connectivity.
This projection is based on Meaningful Use requirements and ACO [3]An Accountable Care Organization (ACO), according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “is an organization of health care providers that agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries who... proliferation. Meaningful Use Stage 2 requires the secure transport of patient summaries between facilities, while the lifeline of an ACO is the efficient sharing of health information among the members. The Direct Project allows for a simple transport method to push health information to another facility, while IHE-based Web Service allows facilities to query one another for health information. Both of these will have a significant impact on how patient health information is shared in the future.