Carequality, the decade-old interoperability initiative whose information-sharing framework spans more than 45 networks connecting more than 50,000 outpatient clinics and 4,200 hospitals, announced last Friday that it will “carefully align” with the federal government-led Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Carequality was founded in 2014 – launched as one of the first national interoperability frameworks, complementing the network of state and regional health information exchanges. Ten years later, the 501c3 nonprofit connects more than 600,000 individual health care providers across its national footprint, supporting the exchange of approximately 940 million records per month.
TEFCA, which was legally implemented by the groundbreaking 21st Century Cures Act of 2016, was developed with stakeholder feedback by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and is now led by the Sequoia Project, the recognized coordinating entity.
“The community-led Carequality Interoperability Framework and TEFCA share many characteristics,” Carequality officials said Aug. 16. “As TEFCA charts its own path and ramps up production this year, the Carequality community is watching, learning, and in some cases participating in TEFCA.
This includes new enhancements to its own framework to “build confidence in current connectivity, and plans to forge a strategic path of alignment” with TEFCA going forward, officials said. “Carequality’s framework is mature and supported by a deliberative governance structure. We are committed to further advancing interoperability while protecting patient data.”
Now that TEFCA and its suite of Qualified Health Information Networks, or QHINs, have reached a critical mass of participation, Carequality continues to refine its own frameworks and procedures and aims to align with TEFCA where appropriate, the company says, “with an eye toward future convergence of the two frameworks.” New goals include:
-
Now deploying existing Carequality policies to address community concerns about required answers to questions
-
Accelerating the ongoing consideration and adoption of policy changes to align with TEFCA’s approach to treatment definition
-
Enable stronger directory integrity checks
-
Incorporating TEFCA Delegate Policy into our existing On-Behalf-Of Policy to increase transparency and control
Quality of care has an informative webinar planned on Thursday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m., so that interested parties can learn more.
THE BIGGER TREND
One of Carequality’s most notable participants is Epic, with a full 100% of its community participating in the information exchange framework. The electronic health records giant released a statement of its own, praising the group for joining TEFCA.
The company expects to have received commitments from the entire Epic community to migrate to TEFCA via the Epic Nexus QHIN by the end of this year, with all of those customers expected to be live by the end of 2025.
“TEFCA is the country’s best opportunity to bring the remaining 30% of U.S. hospitals off the sidelines and strengthen trust between data sharing networks and healthcare organizations,” Epic officials said in a statement.
ON THE RECORD
“We know that when interoperability is right, patients receive care that allows them to make informed decisions about their health journey,” Carequality leaders said in announcing the realignment.
“Disrupting existing interoperability frameworks poses too great a risk to patient outcomes,” they said. “That’s why we’re strategically and methodically evolving to meet the needs of our dynamic community now, while planning to collaborate with TEFCA in the future. Together, we can build on our successes, ensuring that interoperability is trusted and remains a cornerstone of a healthier future for all.”
Mike Miliard is Editor-in-Chief of Healthcare IT News
Email address: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS.