The Data Transfer Project (DTP) is an open-source initiative facilitating data portability between online services. Through data portability, users can transfer their data directly without downloading and re-uploading.
What is the data transfer project?
The DTP was launched by Google in 2018 and supported by major companies like Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple. It includes a framework for shared data models. An internet paper published by Google explains, “The DTP will enhance the data portability ecosystem by reducing the infrastructure burden on both providers and users, which in turn should increase the number of services offering portability.” By enabling direct-to-service transfers, the DTP allows individuals to control their data and improve competition among service providers, ultimately improving user experience and data management across platforms.
Related: How data portability combats vendor lock-ins
Understanding data portability in healthcare
Data portability addresses the need to prevent data from being trapped in “silos” or “walled gardens” which causes vendor lock-ins and limits user control over their personal information. It includes two main aspects: the technical capability for organizations to export and import data in standardized formats and the philosophical right of individuals to access and reuse their data. In the U.S. healthcare sector data portability is covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA), which supports a patient's right to request copies of their health records from covered entities.
The implication for U.S healthcare organizations
The principles behind the DTP support improved control over protected health information (PHI) by allowing healthcare organizations to easily transfer information across various sources. The concept also applies to patients, providing them the means to store and transfer health data across platforms to create efficient record-keeping of their medical history.
With improved data sharing, healthcare providers can achieve a more comprehensive view of a patient's history and patients have evidence when contesting rejected insurance claims. Providers also benefit from the standardized data format like fast healthcare interoperability resources (FHIR) which allows for seamless communication across systems, further reducing the administrative burden.
Therefore DTP improves patient outcomes by ensuring PHI remains accessible. When accompanied by the use of secure complementary systems like Paubox’s HIPAA compliant API which integrates with both Outlook and Gmail, healthcare organizations can embrace data transfer in a way that remains secure and compliant.
FAQs
How does Paubox API support interoperability with software like Google?
The Paubox API supports interoperability by allowing for secure emails to be sent through Gmail which connects to Google's other product offerings and therefore supports data sharing between these sources without third-party email providers having to be used to provide for HIPAA compliance.
How does data portability combat vendor lock-in?
Data portability combats vendor lock-in by allowing users to easily transfer their data between different service providers.
What are the different forms of data interoperability?
The different forms of data interoperability include foundational interoperability, structural interoperability, and semantic interoperability.
Kirsten Peremore
