Alan Viars is making the case for simpler direct directories.
He has allowed me to republish some of his ideas here!!
A couple of weeks ago, I attended ONC’s Direct Bootcamp in Crystal City, VA. A hot topic at the two-day conference was the notion of a “Provider Directory” that incorporates Direct email addresses.
I also read that HHS/CMS intends to revamp the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). This is the system that manages National Provider Identifiers or (NPIs). Every individual provider and provider organization has one of these numbers, sort of like a tax ID for providers. A common complaint I hear is that it contains information that is often out of date and/or incorrect.
So what, you might ask, does the NPPES have to do with the Direct Project? Having worked with the NPPES data and having some background with Direct, the idea of “killing two birds with one stone” has captured my imagination. (Nerdy and wonky I know.) This is an opportunity for government efficiency by consolidating systems. Efficiency can only be achieved if the new system is simple, however. Too often in health information technology, consultants and vendors introduce complexity for complexity’s sake. After all, complexity is good for the bottom line for many companies because it means more billable hours and more services sold. Sadly, I see this sort of thing all the time. As an American and a taxpayer it ticks me off.(See footnote)
To illustrate what I mean by “simple”, I’ve built a prototype web service application that illustrates my vision of a combined NPPES and Direct email Provider Directory. Before I outline that technical proposal, however, I’d like to point out how adding some other data fields to NPPES could result in a an empowering service for patients, providers, and payers.
The whole article is worth a read. The man makes a good case.