Cooperative Agreement supports accreditation program for HISPs, CAs and RAs to ensure privacy, security and trust in identity of health information exchange
DirectTrust Receives ONC Award for Development of Health Information Exchange Governance Model and Advancement of EHNAC-DirectTrust Accreditation Program
<0> Dodge CommunicationsJennifer Jennings, 770-576-2556orEHNACDebra Hopkinson, 860-408-1620orDirectTrustDavid Kibbe, 913-205-7968 </0>
DirectTrust.org, Inc. () has been awarded a cooperative agreement from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology () for continued development and implementation of its accreditation program for health information service providers (HISPs) developed in partnership with the (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body.
EHNAC and DirectTrust’s Direct Trusted Agent Accreditation Program (DTAAP) will be further developed through ONC’s . The program is designed to encourage the continued development and adoption of policies, interoperability requirements and business practices that will increase the ease of electronic health information exchange, reduce implementation costs, and assure the privacy and security of data being exchanged.
One of the areas of focus in the cooperative agreement will be on the continued development and implementation of DTAAP as a national accreditation for health information “trusted agent” service providers, including HISPs, certificate authorities (CAs) and registration authorities (RAs). The accreditation program, launched in November 2012, is currently in use at six beta sites and is projected to have wide-scale industry adoption by the end of 2013 and into 2014.
“We at EHNAC and DirectTrust are strongly committed to bringing this program to fruition,” says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. “The need in the marketplace for guidance, accountability and trust in health information exchange is undeniable. The DTAAP framework and process is solid, and we look forward to working closely with ONC to implement the final accreditation program policies and procedures to facilitate the exchange of health information across vendors.”
The for DTAAP include the areas of privacy, security and confidentiality; technical performance; resources; and implementation specifications; as well as a self-attestation and site review. In the near term, EHNAC and DirectTrust will work with ONC to implement the technical mechanism and process for trust anchor exchange, which will simplify Directed exchange across vendor boundaries, as well as to develop and implement a federated agreement among accredited participants that avoids the need for one-to-one legal agreements.
“With the combination of Meaningful Use and the HIPAA Omnibus rule, advancements in interoperability and convenience of health information exchange require added protections,” says David C. Kibbe, MD MBA, president and CEO of DirectTrust. “The risk of exposure of PHI is greatest for providers and healthcare organizations; as such, our job is to ensure that privacy, security and trusted identity are assured for Directed exchange participants—whether hospitals, professionals or patients.”
For more information or to apply for DTAAP accreditation, please visit the .
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms, health information exchanges and e-prescribing solution providers.
EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit or contact . Connect with EHNAC on , and .
DirectTrust is an independent, non-profit trade association created by and for participants in the Direct community, with the common goal of establishing and maintaining a national Security and Trust Framework in support of Directed exchange. Members of DirectTrust now include more than 45 representatives from Health Information Service Providers (HISPs), Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), Certificate Authorities (CAs), consultants, state agencies, EHR vendors, as well as health care providers who are purchasers and subscribers. DirectTrust is competitively neutral and welcomes new participants. To learn more, visit .