Minnesota healthcare providers will soon find relief from the mountains of paper and buzzing fax machines that clutter their busy offices thanks to secure messaging software from Minneapolis health IT company ApeniMED. Starting in Fall 2012, providers and staff will be able to send secure emails to one another, such as sending a patient referral to a specialty care provider.

ApeniMED, a leader in healthcare interoperability and Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) connectivity, was selected by the Minnesota Department of Health as part of the State’s Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program to receive program support for ApeniMED’s eDirect service, a secure messaging solution for healthcare providers, clinicians, and others involved in the delivery of care. eDirect will also help providers meet multiple requirements for Meaningful Use with the capability to attach documents, such as medical records or test results.

“Providers tell us that they want to communicate with hospitals and patients, whether across the street or across the State, using email, but security and privacy have always been big problems,” said ApeniMED CEO John Fraser. “Our eDirect solution is built upon the Direct Project standards, so users can send authenticated, encrypted health information directly to known, trusted recipients over the Internet.”