We’re excited to welcome Greg Meyer to DirectTrust® as Senior Director of Development and Infrastructure. If Greg’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s been part of the DirectTrust journey since the very beginning. From helping author the original Applicability Statement and implementation guides to developing the Direct Java Reference Implementation still in use today, Greg has played a key role in building the foundation of the Direct Standard®.

In this Q&A, Greg shares memories from those early days, what he’s most proud of, and how he sees the future of interoperability.

You’ve been connected to DirectTrust since the very beginning. How did you first get involved?

Greg Meyer: I came into the Direct Project back in 2010 while I was at Cerner, just as the initiative was starting under ONC. I jumped in on the technical side, working on the Java Reference Implementation and helping write the Applicability Statement. It was a unique process as we weren’t just drafting a specification, we were building and coding alongside it. Shortly after we finished first release of the specification, we focused on policy which begat the “rules of the road” workgroup which eventually migrated to a formal governance body that we now know as DirectTrust.

Looking back, what stands out most from those early days?

GM: What amazed me was the sheer speed. Typically, standards take years, but we had 80ish companies working together and actually producing something usable in a matter of months. It was very much a “do-ocracy,” where the people doing the work drove the outcomes. And because we wrote the spec and the reference implementation at the same time, organizations had something tangible to adopt right away.

Of your contributions, which are you most proud of?

GM: Definitely the Java Reference Implementation. It’s been a living project since 2010 – still relevant, still running in production today, and adapting to changes in contemporary application architecture. To me, that shows we created something with staying power, not just a one-time exercise.

How do you see your role evolving at DirectTrust?

GM: DirectTrust has always been strong on governance and policy. My focus is helping accelerate the transformation of that policy into something palpable including code, tools, and processes the industry can actually execute. With the advances in AI patterns, there’s real opportunity to make that translation faster and more effective.

What progress excites you most in interoperability?

GM: I’d sum it up as “data fluidity.” We’ve come a long way in getting data out of siloed systems and into patients’ hands, with APIs and apps now doing things that weren’t possible 15 years ago. That fluidity, or data moving where it needs to go, has made the biggest difference.

And where do you think the gaps remain?

GM: We still don’t capture enough of the health data that happens in daily life outside the doctor’s office and turn it into something actionable. Real-time data capture, analytics, and decision support could help people stay healthier day-to-day. Because the best patient experience, in my view, is not being a patient at all.

Greg has made significant contributions to the DirectTrust community over the years, and we’re excited to officially welcome him to the team. His mix of technical expertise, historical perspective, and vision for the future will be a strong asset as DirectTrust continues its mission to build trust across healthcare.