DirectTrust Reports Strong Growth in Direct Transactions, Number of Direct Exchange Addresses and Users

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Jan 20, 2016) - DirectTrust today announced continued record growth in the number of health care organizations using Direct exchange services during 2015, as well as an upsurge in the number of Direct addresses and transactions nationwide. DirectTrust is a non-profit health care industry alliance created by and for participants in the Direct exchange network used for secure, interoperable exchange of personal health information (PHI) between provider organizations, and between provider and patients, for the purpose of improved coordination of care.

According to year-end 2015 metrics, there were more than 44 million Direct transactions between Direct addresses in 2015, bringing the total number of transactions to more than 67 million since DirectTrust's 2013 inception. There were more than 13 million Direct messages transmitted during the fourth quarter of 2015 alone. At the current rate of increase, DirectTrust anticipates the number of Direct transactions will climb to more than 230 million by year-end 2016 and could reach nearly 800 million by year-end 2017.

The number of trusted Direct addresses able to share PHI across the DirectTrust network jumped 66% to more than 1 million; increasing more than 137,000 in the fourth quarter.

The number of health care organizations served by DirectTrust accredited health information service providers (HISPs) increased 47% to more than 52,000, compared with approximately 35,000 at year-end 2014. Direct's national network now includes 44 EHNAC-DirectTrust accredited HISPs.

DirectTrust President and CEO David C. Kibbe, MD MBA, commented: "2015 was a stellar year for Direct and what is fast becoming a national health information highway. Clearly, electronic messaging via the Direct protocol has reached a 'tipping point' because it simply keeps on working. Direct is a relatively inexpensive means of moving health data from point A to point B, securely and, most often, within the context of providers' EHR technologies. So, Direct is leveraging and expanding our investments in EHR technology as a nation. Additionally, Direct is becoming much more convenient to use; it often works alongside other exchange technologies, such as EHR-specific messaging systems and eHealthExchange/CONNECT. We expect to see continued uptake and adoption of Direct exchange as the drivers of care coordination, patient engagement, and measures reporting gain criticality under MIPS and MACRA, and as value-based and incentive-based payment programs become more important to providers. The bottom line: interoperable exchange of health data is fundamental to quality care giving."

Charts detailing results as of the end of the third quarter are available here or by contacting Ed Emerman at eemerman@eaglepr.com  or 609.275.5162.

About DirectTrust
DirectTrust is a three-year old, non-profit, competitively neutral, self-regulatory entity created by and for participants in the Direct community, including Health Internet Service Providers (HISPs), Certificate Authorities (CAs), and Registration Authorities (RAs), doctors, patients and vendors, and supports both provider-to-provider as well as patient-to-provider Direct exchange. DirectTrust recently received a Cooperative Agreement Award from ONC as part of the Exemplar HIE Governance Program. DirectTrust serves as a forum and governance body for persons and entities engaged in Directed exchange of electronic health information as part of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN). DirectTrust's Security and Trust Framework is the basis for the voluntary accreditation of service providers implementing Directed health information exchange. The goal of DirectTrust.org is to develop, promote and, as necessary, help enforce the rules and best practices necessary to maintain security and trust within the Direct community, consistent with the HITECH Act and the governance rules for the NwHIN established by ONC, DirectTrust.org is committed to fostering widespread public confidence in the Direct exchange of health information. To learn more, visit www.directtrust.org.