Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity

    Microsoft Teams with U.S. Direct Project on HealthVault Expansion

    By
    Brian T. Horowitz
    -
    February 9, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Microsoft has announced it will integrate encrypted e-mail functionality into its HealthVault personal health platform.

      The new feature allows doctors to exchange messages with patients using the federal Direct Project’s security standard for developing HIEs (health information exchanges). Patients can receive a full view of their medical history from doctors and use electronic communication to transfer it into their personal health records, Microsoft reports.

      HealthVault allows users to manage medication schedules, store lab test results and keep track of fitness goals. It also directs patients to other online tools to manage chronic conditions such as allergies, diabetes and heart disease.

      The second phase of the government’s guidelines on meaningful use of electronic health records calls for secure online patient messaging, according to Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s health solutions group.

      Eventually, providers will be able to send secure messages to each other and transfer patient records within HealthVault, Neupert wrote in a blog post. This information is critical for doctors to be able to make decisions regarding patient care, Neupert noted.

      Disparate systems in health care prevent information from being easily shared, whether in paper file folders or inaccessible electronic systems, according to Neupert.

      “Historically, the data has been hard to get,” Neupert wrote. “Within the hospital, it is trapped in siloed systems that support different departments but aren’t connected.”

      The “open government” Direct Project was created to make this exchange of information easier. “The initial goal of the Direct Project is to specify a simple, secure, scalable, standards-based way for participants to send authenticated, encrypted health information directly to known, trusted recipients over the Internet,” Gartner analyst Wes Rishel said in a statement.

      Along with EHR developers AllScripts and MedPlus as well as HIE provider VisionShare, Microsoft is an early member of the Direct Project, Neupert wrote.

      Microsoft announced the update to HealthVault on Feb. 2. at a Washington, D.C., Health & Human Services Department event highlighting Direct Project pilot implementations in Minnesota and Rhode Island.

      “This is an important milestone in our journey to achieve secure health information exchange, and it means that health care providers large and small will have an early option for electronic exchange of information supporting their most basic and frequently needed uses,” Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology, said in a statement regarding the Direct Project. On Feb. 3 Blumenthal announced he will step down this spring to return to an academic career at Harvard University.

      Direct Project pilot projects will soon follow in California, Connecticut, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, according to HHS. The Obama administration aims for formal adoption of the standards and wide availability for health care providers by 2012.

      “This is a new approach to public sector leadership, and it works,” Aneesh Chopra, U.S. chief technology officer, said in a statement. “Instead of depending on a traditional top-down approach, stakeholders worked together to develop an open, standardized platform that dramatically lowers costs and barriers to secure health information exchange. The Direct Project is a great example of how government can work as a convener to catalyze new ideas and business models through collaboration.”

      MedPlus and VisionShare will demonstrate Microsoft’s new HealthVault e-mail functionality at the HIMSS11 health care IT, which will be held in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 20-24.

      Brian T. Horowitz
      Brian T. Horowitz is a freelance technology and health writer as well as a copy editor. Brian has worked on the tech beat since 1996 and covered health care IT and rugged mobile computing for eWEEK since 2010. He has contributed to more than 20 publications, including Computer Shopper, Fast Company, FOXNews.com, More, NYSE Magazine, Parents, ScientificAmerican.com, USA Weekend and Womansday.com, as well as other consumer and trade publications. Brian holds a B.A. from Hofstra University in New York.Follow him on Twitter: @bthorowitz

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×