FISHKILL, N.Y., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A. John
Blair III, MD, CEO of MedAllies, will be among a select group of
thought leaders to present at the July 15 eHealth Initiative 2011
National Forum on Health Information Exchange in Washington,
D.C.
Blair will participate in a panel session entitled “How HIEs can
Work with the Direct Project,” which will explore the
implementation challenges associated with the Direct Project as
well as the benefits that can be derived from it. The group will
discuss how Direct will help providers and hospitals qualify for
meaningful use and encourage health information exchange.
Direct Project, a national effort to fast track electronic
health information exchange, is spearheaded by the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. MedAllies
was one of only seven sites nationwide to launch a Direct
pilot.
“I look forward to sharing what we learned during our Direct
journey,” Blair said. “I’m also interested in hearing insights from
my fellow panelists.”
Direct provides a simple, secure, scalable, standards-based way
for participants to send authenticated, encrypted health
information directly to known, trusted recipients via the
Internet—an approach that will work across various EHR
vendors. Some Direct pilots are moving data for lab transactions,
some for public health reporting. In MedAllies’ hands, Direct is a
tool to advance primary care models that emphasize care
coordination and improved care transitions.
“The lack of coordinated care, one of the most pressing problems
we face in health care, often stems from a lack of an appropriately
secure flow of critical clinical information,” Blair explained.
“This has a negative impact on patient safety, care quality and
costs.” It is this challenge MedAllies’ Direct addresses.
For more information about the eHealth Initiative 2011 National
Forum on Health Information Exchange at the Omni Shoreham
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