The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that the nationwide health data exchange, governed by the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common AgreementSM (TEFCA), is now operational. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), a division of HHS, has been leading this multi-year public-private initiative with its Recognized Coordinating Entity®, The Sequoia Project, Inc.
This significant accomplishment, envisioned by the 21st Century Cures Act, will provide patients with increased access to their records. Additionally, it will enable healthcare providers and plans to improve the secure exchange of electronic health information.
The announcement was made at a signing event at the HHS headquarters, attended by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, National Coordinator Micky Tripathi, and other federal leaders.
Secretary Becerra lauded the achievement, stating, “After over a decade of very hard work, today marks another major milestone in our march towards a 21st-century digital health care system.” He explained that TEFCA allows stakeholders, including patients, providers, public health professionals, and health insurers, to safely and securely share critical health information.
After undergoing a rigorous TEFCA onboarding process, five organizations were officially designated as Qualified Health Information Networks™ (QHINs™). These include eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, KONZA, and MedAllies. As pillars of the TEFCA network-to-network exchange, these QHINs will provide shared services and governance to securely route queries, responses, and messages across networks for eligible participants.
Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., national coordinator for health information technology, expressed satisfaction at the achievement, saying, “In February 2023 we announced that TEFCA would be operational by the end of the calendar year, and we are delighted to achieve this goal.”
Mariann Yeager, CEO of The Sequoia Project and RCE lead, sees this as just the beginning. She anticipates a rapid expansion of TEFCA exchange as these pioneering networks roll out the benefits of TEFCA to their customers and members, while additional QHINs continue to onboard.
The Common Agreement Version 2.0, currently under development, is expected to include enhancements and updates to support Health Level Seven (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) based transactions. It is scheduled for adoption by the QHINs within the first quarter of 2024.
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