DirectTrust says it has seen "explosive growth" in the number of Direct exchange transactions so far this year, as providers make use of the simple and secure means of data interoperability.

WHY IT MATTERS
During the second quarter of 2019, the nonprofit alliance – which was launched to promote secure, electronic exchanges of protected health information between providers and between providers and patients – tracked nearly 251 million messages sent and received through the DirectTrust network

That's an increase of nearly 53%, compared with the previous quarter – and nearly 397% over the same period last year, the group says, noting that the cumulative total of Direct exchange transactions since 2014 has surpassed a billion.

THE LARGER TREND
Moreover, the number of healthcare organizations served by DirectTrust health information service providers and engaged in Direct Secure Messaging exchange has also increased – more than 55% to more than 189,000 compared with the same time last year.

The number of patients/consumers involved in using Direct Secure Messaging increased more than 14% to more than 277,000, according to the group, and the number of trusted Direct addresses able to share PHI grew more than 13% – to nearly 2 million.

The DirectTrust network now includes 35 HISPs in the Accredited Trust Anchor Bundle and 40 Accredited Organizations.

This past week, DirectTrust also announced its development of Trusted Instant Messaging+, or TIM+,, an industry-first standard to enable real-time communication of health information, incorporating trust network concepts to ensure secure transmissions between known, trusted entities within and across enterprises.

ON THE RECORD
“We’re thrilled with the continued growth of the DirectTrust network – and achieving the landmark milestone of one billion Direct Secure Messages exchanged since inception," said DirectTrust President and CEO Scott Stuewe. "We attribute much of this continued growth to the ease of deployment of Direct Exchange – it’s built into EHRs. Additionally, Direct Secure Messaging remains the most cost effective and uncomplicated mechanism for secure interoperable data transport."

Steuwe added that the alliances is "especially excited to see organizations using Direct Secure Messaging in new and innovative ways, such as for public health reporting, and proud to provide a robust network and trust framework to facilitate coordination of care."