A Primer on Meaningful Use and HISPs

The Massachusetts State government offers low cost HIE services including Direct transport to all the stakeholders of the Commonwealth.    Recently. Micky Tripathi wrote this FAQ which is so good that I wanted to share it on my blog.   Feel free to use it with your stakeholders.1. What is a HISP?A Health Information Services Provider (HISP) is an organization that manages security and transport for health information exchange among health care entities or individuals using the Direct standard for transport.  There is no specific legal designation for a HISP, nor are HISPs specifically regulated by Meaningful Use certification rules.  The term HISP was coined to describe specific message transport functions that need to be performed to support scaled deployment of the Direct standard in the market.  HISP functions can be performed by existing organizations (such as EHR vendors or hospitals or HIE organizations) or by standalone organizations specializing in HISP services.HISPs perform two key functions that support scalability of exchange using the Direct standard. a. Issue security certificates.  HISPs establish trust networks by defining policies for network participation and issuing security certificates tied to a HISP anchor certificate to enforce such policiesb. Issue direct addresses.   HISPs issue direct addresses tied to the HISP anchor certificate in accordance with conventions defined by the Direct standard2. Do I need to use a...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs