ONC pubs Common Agreement v2.0, with regs for FHIR exchange
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Sequoia Project on Monday announced the launch of Common Agreement version 2.0, an update to the document last released last November.
ONC also published new terms of participation for participants and sub-participants, which establish the requirements that participants must agree to and meet in order to exchange data under the Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement.
WHY IT MATTERS
ONC and Sequoia say the seven designated Qualified Health Information Networks under TEFCA can now adopt and implement the new version, CA v2.0, which has been updated to require support for API exchange using HL7’s FHIR specification.
This will allow TEFCA participants and sub-participants to more easily exchange health information among themselves and allow individuals to more easily access their own data using the devices and apps of their choice.
TEFCA’s Joint Agreement governs the technical infrastructure model and governance approach for various healthcare information networks and their users, allowing them to securely share clinical information with each other – all under commonly agreed rules.
The new enhancements and updates “mark a huge step forward for TEFCA as it delivers on the promise of seamless nationwide exchange at scale,” ONC said. concepts that have evolved from Common Agreement v1.1 to v2.0.
Meanwhile, the new Participant and Sub-Participant Terms for TEFCA will enhance the framework by providing a standalone document that participants can incorporate into existing data use agreements – reducing legal costs and other burdens for organizations looking to connect
THE BIG TREND
Last December, ONC and Sequoia Project, TEFCA’s recognized coordinating entity, announced it was live and ready to exchange data across five QHINs: eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, KONZA and MedAllies.
“The first clinical data sharing began within 24 hours of the nation’s first Qualified Health Information Networks receiving designation in December 2023,” said Mariann Yeager, CEO of the Sequoia Project and RCE leader.
Two months ago, two more QHINs, CommonWell and Kno2, were also on board.
The Sequoia Project had sought stakeholder feedback this year on updates to the Common Agreement and new terms of participation, and also published a series of designs supporting wider use of FHIR and improving operational procedures for electronic case reporting and improving the framework overall.
ON THE RECORD
“Today’s release includes framework enhancements including expanded use of FHIR, better support for use cases beyond treatment, and simplified onboarding for participants such as physicians, digital health apps, public health agencies, and other health data end users,” said Yeager.
“It has long been our intention that TEFCA would have the capacity to enable FHIR API exchange,” said Micky Tripathi, National Coordinator for Health IT. “This is in direct response to the healthcare IT industry’s move toward standardized APIs with modern privacy and security safeguards, and allows TEFCA to keep pace with the advanced, secure data service approaches used by the technology industry. ”
Mike Miliard is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.