MINNEAPOLIS – ABILITY Network, which develops Web-based technology for information exchange, is offering physicians throughout Minnesota a secure, Direct-enabled address, free for the first year of use.
 
Designed to promote communication between healthcare professionals, ABILITY’s new program is called DirectABILITY and is based on the open technology standards developed by The Direct Project, an initiative of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

[See also: Direct Project: A new way to transfer data.]
 
“DirectABILITY allows for secure communication of health information among healthcare participants who know and trust each other,” said John Feikema, president of ABILITY. “When a hospital, clinic or medical group signs up for DirectABILITY and wants to send health-related messages to any other Direct-enabled entity, they can do so easily, securely and in compliance with regulations such as HIPAA.”
 
ABILITY (formerly known as VisionShare) announced in February that it would invest up to $50 million over the next year to enable Direct, secure connectivity for all providers in the U.S. on the ABILITY network, and this offering for Minnesota providers is one of the first steps to that goal, Feikema said.
 
ABILITY was the first in the nation to demonstrate a live Direct-enabled transaction, sending an immunization update from Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis to the Minnesota State Department of Health.

Last week, ABILITY announced that the State of Minnesota Department of Health granted it the first-ever certification as a Health Data Intermediary (HDI), charged with providing the infrastructure to streamline the exchange of healthcare data for the benefit of patients, providers and payers in the state.

[See also: Direct Project enjoys growing popularity.]
 
“We believe in what ONC is trying to do to help healthcare providers achieve meaningful use of technology, and we want to spur that goal by signing up physicians on DirectABILITY,” Feikema said.
 
Physicians can learn more about Direct and request an address here.