DHIN Recognized as a DirectTrust Interoperability Hero

DirectTrust Initiative recognizes organizations, teams and individuals driving interoperability advancements

WASHINGTON, DC (November 8, 2022) — Delaware Heath Information Network (DHIN), the First State’s health information exchange, is pleased to announce its recognition as a DirectTrust Interoperability Hero. The nation’s first operational statewide health information exchange, DHIN shares real-time clinical information to improve patient and clinician experience, lower costs and promote better outcomes. DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare industry alliance created to support secure, identity-verified electronic exchanges of protected health information.

In the category of “Broadening Interoperability through the Spectrum of Care,” DHIN was recognized for developing a shared-cost agreement with two Accountable Care Organizations, along with Delaware’s skilled nursing facility providers and an electronic medical record provider to enroll 33 facilities with DHIN.

The post-acute care setting has traditionally been a “black box” for clinicians who need healthcare data from the facilities to treat patients and for Accountable Care Organizations, whose pay-for-value measures require this data for outcome measurement. Skilled nursing facilities in Delaware historically did not use electronic medical records and couldn’t send the Admission, Discharge and Transfer (ADT) summary messages that drive alerts through DHIN. While DHIN processes over 130 million of these messages each year from healthcare systems from across the mid-Atlantic region, a very small fraction are from post-acute care facilities.

This collaboration brings significant closure to this data gap, ultimately allowing for up to 85% of post-acute care organizations in the state to deliver their ADTs through DHIN, correspondingly enabling the delivery of alerts to treating clinicians, improving the coordination of care and making this data history available by query in DHIN’s Community Health Record.

“We’re delighted to recognize DHIN as an Interoperability Hero,” said Scott Stuewe, President and CEO of DirectTrust. “There’s power in knowing the stories driving advancements in interoperability. We’re thrilled to bring attention to the use cases and successes of the efforts of those meeting the criteria of Interoperability Hero.”

DirectTrust’s Interoperability Hero Initiative recognizes those organizations, teams, and individuals integral to advancing interoperability. Each quarter, DirectTrust opens a window for Interoperability Hero nominations based on significant contribution in a variety of categories, including fax alternatives, collaboration with others, identity-proofing, organizational efficiencies and using Direct with other standards and networks (e.g., FHIR, Query). Entities meeting the criteria are recognized as an Interoperability Hero and announced in DirectTrust’s quarterly metrics release. For additional information about DirectTrust’s Interoperability Hero initiative, visit bit.ly/InteropHero.

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About DirectTrust
DirectTrust™ is a non-profit, vendor-neutral alliance initially created by and for participants in the healthcare and technology communities, including Health Information Service Providers (HISPs), Certificate Authorities (CAs), Registration Authorities (RAs), healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, consumers/patients, and health IT vendors. DirectTrust serves as a governance forum, trust community, standards organization, and accreditation body for persons and entities engaged in exchange utilizing PKI mechanisms for trusted, secure information exchange like Direct Secure Messaging and trusted, compliant document submission. The goal of DirectTrust is to develop, promote, and, as necessary, help enforce the rules and best practices necessary to maintain security and trust within its trust community. DirectTrust is committed to fostering widespread public confidence in the interoperable exchange of health information. To learn more, visit www.directtrust.org.

About DHIN
DHIN, the Delaware Health Information Network, was the first live, statewide health information exchange in the nation. Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and nearly 100% of the state’s medical providers. More than 81 million clinical results and messages are processed through DHIN each year. There are over three million unique patients with results on DHIN, including patients from all 50 states. DHIN shares real-time clinical information to improve patient outcomes, eliminate the duplication of services and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.DHIN.org and connect on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram (@DHIN_hie).