More than 65 organizations, including IT vendors and integrated delivery systems, have planned support for the Direct Project, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). In addition, 20 states have ONC-approved HIE plans that incorporate the Direct Project as part of their health IT plans, said Arien Malec, coordinator of the ONC's Direct Project and Standards & Interoperability Framework, speaking at a March 21 Webinar sponsored by the National eHealth Collaborative.

Methodist Hospital of Southern California, in Arcadia, Calif., has selected privacy auditor FairWarning to upgrade patient privacy in its EHR system.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health ITs (ONC) Direct Project has had a pretty good year: More than 65 organizations have announced support for implementing the Direct Project, and 20 states now have ONC-approved plans that include its mechanism for information exchange over the internet. So, the panelists in a March 21 National eHealth Collaborative webinar had reason to be optimistic when they were asked to comment on the growth prospects for Direct Projects use cases.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted new frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the EHR incentive program in the FAQ section of the EHR Incentive Programs website. Questions added to the site include queries about eligibility, registration, meaningful use and attestation.

The Direct Project, a mechanism for basic, secure internet-based exchange between trusted entities, is powering pilot exchanges in New York, Rhode Island and elsewhere. More initiatives will go live in the near future, according to NHIN 301, a webinar update on the Direct Project and its relationship to the Standards & Interoperability Framework, sponsored by the National e-Health Collaborative.

Clinical summaries with computer-generated reminders significantly improved clinician compliance with CD4 testing guidelines in the resource-limited setting of sub-Saharan Africa, according to research published in the March edition of Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Legislators are increasing the cost and lowering the quality of healthcare in Montana by refusing funding for EHR technology, Governor Brian Schweitzer said in a March 16 news release. The state legislature denied the Department of Public Health and Human Services the authority to accept and distribute the money to hospitals in House Bill 2, which passed the Montana House on March 14.

No company has emerged as frontrunner in the EMR market, but there is a lead pack, according to a report from Kalorama Information, which valued the EMR market at $15.7 billion in 2010.