DirectTrust and EHNAC Announce Merger Agreement
DirectTrust and the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) announced an agreement to merge EHNAC with and into DirectTrust, effective January 4, 2023. DirectTrust is a non-profit healthcare industry alliance created to support secure, identity-verified electronic exchanges of protected health information. EHNAC is a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body for organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data.
With EHNAC’s incorporation into DirectTrust, DirectTrust anticipates bringing to fruition new accreditation programs, with a program focused on Credential Service Providers related to consumer access and use of health data as an early target.
EHNAC’s senior leaders, Executive Director and CEO Lee Barrett and COO Debra Hopkinson are long-standing pillars of the health IT trust and accreditation communities and will continue to work for and consult with DirectTrust. EHNAC staff members and assessors will also join DirectTrust.
The EHNAC Commission will remain intact and be designated as Commissioners overseeing accreditation-specific matters. The DirectTrust Board of Directors will continue as is.
“We’re thrilled the long-standing relationship between EHNAC and DirectTrust is reaching its full potential with this merger,” said Scott Stuewe, DirectTrust President and CEO. “This unequivocal demonstration of our mutual dedication to facilitating trust will enable both parties to optimize their complementary strengths to create new opportunities for trust and assurance in the healthcare industry, especially in the age of TEFCA. It’s exciting to bring together our accreditation and standards development focus areas, while also enhancing opportunities for DirectTrust’s membership. Our goal is to be the nation’s premier healthcare-focused accreditation, standards development, and technical trust partner.”
“This merger of expertise, resources, and technology leverages EHNAC’s accreditation programs as a ‘recognized security framework’ and is an inevitable culmination of the years our organizations have spent ensuring stakeholder trust,” said Barrett. “By combining with the membership, standards development, technical trust, and accreditation capabilities of DirectTrust, we’ll be able to further support DirectTrust members, EHNAC-accredited organizations, and the industry as a whole to navigate the privacy and security hurdles that continue to afflict healthcare. Additionally, we’ll be able to continue our combined focus on interoperability initiatives to assist the healthcare ecosystem meet industry initiative timelines.”
DirectTrust members can expect a continuation of the same membership benefits and experience. Additionally, DirectTrust anticipates its members that pursue and achieve accreditation will experience an improved and streamlined accreditation process upon completion of the merger.
Existing DirectTrust and EHNAC accreditations will continue to be valid and recognized after the merger. Accreditations and accreditation renewals will occur within the newly expanded DirectTrust organization.
Membership in DirectTrust will continue to remain separate from accreditation. EHNAC Accredited Organizations not currently members of DirectTrust are invited to join DirectTrust membership; DirectTrust membership is not required for accreditation.
DirectTrust and EHNAC will hold a Public Information Session about the merger on Friday, December 9, 2022, at 12:00pm EST. This session is open to all interested parties. To register, visit https://bit.ly/DTEHNACinfo.
Additional information, including FAQs, about the DirectTrust-EHNAC merger may be found at https://bit.ly/DTEHNAC.