HHS and President Barack Obama's administration have launched two health information-exchange pilot programs in Minnesota and Rhode Island, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. They are the first of several pilots that will test the specifications and protocols developed by the Direct Project, according to the ONC.

Coordinated by the ONC, the Direct Project aims to find "simple, secure, scalable, standards-based" ways to send health information over the Internet. California, Connecticut, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas are scheduled to be the next pilot sites for the programs, according to an ONC press release.

Dr. David Blumenthal, head of the ONC, and Aneesh Chopra, White House chief technology officer, formally announced the pilots in Washington Wednesday afternoon.