The iShare Medical Blog

What is a healthcare Direct Address?

Written by Linda Van Horn | Apr 7, 2023 12:05:53 AM

A Direct Address is an electronic endpoint for sharing medical records nationwide.  It looks like and acts like an email address, but this is no email system. A Direct Address is bound to the identity of the owner which can be a patient, provider, payer, or device.  In order to set

up a Direct Address the owner is ID-proofed and assigned two pairs of cryptographic key pairs, one key pair is used for encryption and the other is used for digital signature.  For this reason, it is not possible to spoof or spam a Direct Message because the identity of the sender and receiver are always known.

 

Direct Addresses are used in the Direct Standard, an easy-to-use, inexpensive. ANSI Standard for sharing medical records that can be used with or without an EHR.  The Direct Standard Protocol is required to be in every Certified Electronic Health Records Technology (CEHRT).  In fact, 95% of hospitals and 87% of physician has attested to using a CEHRT. 

 

This means the Direct Standard Protocol is already in your EHR; however, to use it you will need a Direct Address and Direct Messaging account.  By signing up for an iShareID Direct Address and iShare Medical Messaging account you will be able to send and receive medical records across organizational boundaries to patients, providers, payers, and devices via our nationwide network of 2.8 million healthcare providers.  Sharing medical records can help you to improve care coordination, reduce costs, and save time. Plus your iShareID Direct Address and iShare Medical Messaging account include access to and a listing in the iShare Medical Directory of Direct Addresses.

 

Sign up today and start sharing medical records now.  Call us today at 816.249.2555 or email us at info@isharemedical.com.