First Vendors Get Accredited for Direct Messaging Services

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission has accredited the first four vendors to meet newly developed best practices for providing secure messaging services using the Direct Project protocols.

The vendors are Cerner Corp., Informatics Corporation of America, Max.MD and Surescripts. All four were accredited for Registration Authority, Certificate Authority and Health Information Service Provider functions.

The federal government developed the Direct Project as a standard way to send authenticated and encrypted messages over the Internet. Stages 2 and 3 of the electronic health records meaningful use program will require adoption of Direct messaging.

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission, which certifies entities that process transactions or exchange health information, recently developed the Direct Trusted Agent Accreditation Program in partnership with DirectTrust, a self-regulatory entity created by participants in the Direct Project community. More information on the accreditation program is available at ehnac.org.