Provider directories form a critical capability that enables efficient identification of individual providers, provider organizations, characteristics about them, their relationships, and the means by which to access and exchange of health information among them electronically.

• They support provider use cases for referrals and other transitions of care
• They fulfill health plan and insurer requirements for a registry of in-plan providers
• They allow consumers to locate providers within their plan that they have the ability to access

The Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap published by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in 2015 called for a series of critical actions to advance provider directories in Section M, Health Care Directories and Resource Location. Despite their importance, provider directory activities remain scattered, uncoordinated, and often not interoperable.

In the latter part of 2015, ONC, in collaboration with the Federal Health Architecture (FHA), began planning for a Provider Directory Workshop to begin to address the call to action in the Interoperability Roadmap and to advance the nation’s provider directory efforts. The Workshop was held on April 5-6, 2016, in McLean, VA. The two-day meeting was attended in person by approximately 90 key leaders in provider directory development, with another 90 or so attending remotely via web meeting and telephone.

Purpose of the Provider Directory Workshop

The purpose of the Provider Directory Workshop was to convene public and private stakeholders to review past and current challenges, share success stories, and generate new ideas around provider directory standards and solutions. The intended audience was health IT developers with an interest in provider directory standards and implementation, and organizations and vendors that are developing or implementing provider directory solutions.

The goal of the Workshop was to assist stakeholders developing and using provider directories in exchanging ideas and potential solutions that can further interoperability in the health care sector. The Workshop also aimed to facilitate a productive dialogue to catalyze stakeholders to take action to help address provider directory-related challenges.

The Workshop approached provider directories from the point of view of interoperability, data quality, existing and evolving standards, and other technical considerations. While technical solutions alone are insufficient for successful implementation, the Workshop considered non-technical issues, such as governance or sustainability, as appropriate without concentrating on these topics.

Scope of these Pages

These pages summarize some of the key findings of the Provider Directory Workshop. In the coming weeks, additional pages will be added to include potential next steps to further advance provider directories and a plan that begins to implement those next steps.

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