Thank you for the article, David. It describes a communication system in which all the players are plugged into a sophisticated central CH-like entity called NEHEN. Presumably, it would be NEHEN's problem to maintain all the connectivity parameters for its members and I suspect that many clearinghouses will try variations on this theme... with success, but only for the benefit of their members talking to their other members. Unless I missed it in my quick read [quite possible], I did not see any principles that would allow small, unsophisticated, entities (small providers, mostly) to communicate with any other entity... in the "open" and not as part of a closed system.
Question regarding scope: Are we really searching here for NEXT STEP solutions for "small providers or their agents" who have managed only to create a valid interchange message? This might be a reasonable way to define/limit scope. Solutions for the small provider are a definite need, but any scheme that we create that is flexible and cheap enough for the little guys would probably be very interesting to the Big Guys too. No matter how many people have joined NEHEN, there will always be a need to talk to people outside of NEHEN's nest. By specifically tailoring our recommendations to meet the needs of the "disenfranchised" among us, we will of necessity, be creating the most "universal" connectivity scheme. (comments always appreciated) -Chris At 09:06 PM 2/10/02 -0800, David Frenkel wrote: >Take a look at this case study of New England Healthcare EDI Network. >http://www.baselinemag.com/article/0,3658,s%253D2101%2526a%253D22263,00. >asp >Regards, >David Frenkel >Business Development >GEFEG USA >Global Leader in Ecommerce Tools >www.gefeg.com >425-260-5030 Christopher J. Feahr, OD http://visiondatastandard.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell/Pager: 707-529-2268
