Tech & Innovation in Healthcare

Industry Notes:

HHS Announces TEFCA is Live

On Dec. 12, 2023, through the Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the national health data exchange is operational.

The data exchange is governed by the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and designated Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) may now transfer data under the Common Agreement’s policies and technical requirements. As of publication, the following five organizations completed the TEFCA onboarding process to achieve QHIN designation:

  • eHealth Exchange
  • Epic Nexus
  • Health Gorilla
  • KONZA
  • MedAllies

“After over a decade of very hard work, today marks another major milestone in our march towards a 21st century digital health care system,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a press release. “TEFCA allows patients, providers, public health professionals, health insurers, and other healthcare stakeholders to safely and securely share information critical to the health of our country and all of our people,” Becerra continues.

Participating healthcare providers and plans can use the nationwide network to securely exchange electronic health information, and patients can enjoy greater access to their healthcare records.