Members sought for consensus body to create profile using standards for secure, interoperable healthcare communication with/between human services providers addressing social determinants of health

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DirectTrust today announced the launch of the Information Exchange for Human Services (IX4HS) Consensus Body and is seeking participants. 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.

As described in the Call for ANS Consensus Body Members in ANSI Standard Actions (VOL. 52 | No. 37; page 73), “DirectTrust is seeking members to complete an Information Exchange for a Human Service (IX4HS) consensus body for proposed American National Standards (ANSs). The Information Exchange for Human Services (IX4HS) project will evaluate and identify existing and developing standards (including the Direct Standard™), or create new standards or profiles as needed for the secure communication of sensitive information between healthcare settings and human services organizations, and between human services organizations for the purposes of endpoint discovery, referral, information exchange and requests, and care coordination.”

The IX4HS Consensus Body is seeking members from the following established DirectTrust Standards sectors:

  • Healthcare
  • Government
  • Healthcare Payer
  • Consumer/General Interest (Human services organizations fall into this category)
  • Information Technology
  • Interoperability and Systems Integration

“Our goal in forming the IX4HS Consensus Body is to create a specification for the use of particular standards to support specific use cases and purposes to enable healthcare organizations interacting with human services providers to refer, follow, coordinate, and measure the outcomes of their ‘social determinants of health’ initiatives,” said Scott Stuewe, DirectTrust President and CEO.

As documented by research, more than 70 percent of the measurable health status of individuals and populations is attributable to ‘social determinants of health’ (SDoH). Accordingly, health systems, health service organizations, providers, and payers are increasingly recognizing the value of integrating SDoH into the care of populations served by human services providers such as state Medicaid programs, federally qualified health centers, and accountable care organizations.

“Communications with and between human services providers should be available in existing clinical systems’ EHRs using interoperable standards that ensure security, protect privacy, enhance usability, and are reliable, scalable, and affordable. And perhaps most importantly, they should be acceptable to human services providers with a widely varying level of systems and users’ competencies,” Stuewe continued.

“Direct Secure Messaging, which utilizes the foundation of the Direct Standard™, is a widely deployed and accessible means for communicating sensitive health information to other trusted parties. It is already in use by many players in human services for secure communication, although some workflows have yet to be profiled. This consensus body will identify the excellent work of other existing standards bodies and initiatives to further profile them with Direct as a transport mechanism,” Stuewe concluded.

Interested parties are eligible to participate in DirectTrust consensus bodies after application and acceptance by the DirectTrust Standards Board. Additional information about the IX4HS Consensus Body, including details about an information session, may be found here. Those interested in joining the IX4HS Consensus Body are asked to please contact [email protected].

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.