Year-end results also reveal patient/consumer addresses jumped 89% in 2020

WASHINGTON, Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DirectTrust today announced the number of Direct Secure Messages transmitted since it began keeping track has surpassed two billion, fueled by a record number of transactions in the fourth quarter, according to year-end results. DirectTrust also reported a continued explosive surge in patient/consumer addresses. DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare industry alliance created to support secure, identity-verified electronic exchanges of protected health information (PHI) between provider organizations, and between providers and patients, for the purpose of improved coordination of care.

According to year-end 2020 metrics:

  • Direct exchange transactions: There were 719 million Direct Secure Messages sent and received between DirectTrust addresses in 2020, which includes more than 265 million during the fourth quarter alone; a record. The cumulative total of Direct Exchange transactions since DirectTrust began tracking transactions in 2014 exceeded 2.1 billion at the end of 2020; an average of 59+ million transactions per month.
  • DirectTrust patient/consumer addresses: The number of patients/consumers using Direct jumped 89% to more than 565,000, compared with 299,000 at year-end 2019.
  • DirectTrust trusted addresses: The number of trusted Direct addresses able to share PHI grew more than 9% to nearly 2.5 million, compared with approximately 2.3 million at the end of 2019.
  • DirectTrust organizations served: The number of healthcare organizations served by DirectTrust accredited health information service providers (HISPs) grew nearly 9% to just over 259,000, compared with approximately 238,000 at year-end 2019.
  • DirectTrust national network: DirectTrust’s national network now includes 31 HISPs in the Accredited Trust Anchor Bundle and 38 DirectTrust accredited organizations.
  • DirectTrust membership: 12 healthcare organizations joined DirectTrust during 2020, bringing the organization’s total membership to 110. New members during the fourth quarter are: Luma Health, Resmed, and Open City Labs.

“Notably, it took five and a half years for the number of Direct Secure Messages exchanged to reach one billion, and just 18 months to surpass two billion,” said Scott Stuewe, DirectTrust president and CEO. “This milestone illustrates interoperability of electronic health information is here and continuing to gain traction as a means to facilitate better coordinated patient care.”

Stuewe continued, “As the number of messages exchanged increases, we also are hearing valuable feedback on opportunities. For instance, the DirectTrust Standards work underway is proposing that messages should contain some additional metadata to inform receivers what a particular message is about and how to handle it. These opportunities promise a robust future of secure and trusted health information exchange.”

“Over a decade ago, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT kicked-off the Direct Project,” said Steve Posnack, deputy national coordinator at ONC. “The increased use of Direct across the health care system is a testament to the power of community and public-private collaboration.”

Charts detailing results through the end of 2020 are available here or by contacting Ed Emerman at [email protected] or 609.240.2766.

About DirectTrust
DirectTrust™ is a non-profit, vendor-neutral alliance initially created by and for participants in the Direct community, including Health Information Service Providers (HISPs), Certificate Authorities (CAs), Registration Authorities (RAs), healthcare providers, 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 the Direct Standard™, supported by DirectTrust’s robust security and trust framework. 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 the Direct Secure Messaging community. DirectTrust is committed to fostering widespread public confidence in the interoperable exchange of health information. To learn more, visit www.directtrust.org.

Media Contact
Ed Emerman
Eagle Public Relations
609.240.2766
[email protected]

View the full Press Release here.