Barely Visible, Big-Impact Health IT Projects

Technological underpinnings. They're everywhere, but oftentimes they're not even seen by the masses.

Take the Direct Project, for instance. What has essentially been considered a set of protocols for secure e-mail is proving to be so much more: The foundation for future healthcare wherein Electronic Health Records automatically populate state-based Health Information Exchanges – routing the right information to the best place at a time appropriate for doctor and patient alike.

As Laura Adams, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI), which operates one such HIE, tells John Morrissey. The exciting thing about Direct "is that it's all behind-the-scenes. No doctor has to remember to do it, it doesn't get involved in their workflow."