On February 13, government leaders thanked the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the six Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) that worked to create a network capable of nationwide interoperability under the 21st Century Cures Act.
‘Network of networks’
At the US Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Xavier Becerra awarded certificates to CommonWell Health Alliance, eHealth Exchange, Epic TEFCA Interoperability Services, Health Gorilla, Kno2, and KONZA for transitioning to prenatal testing. output of the Trusted Exchange Framework and General Agreement.
With the framework, ONC and Project Sequoia, TEFCA’s recognized coordinator, seek to establish a common policy for interoperability across the country, simplifying the connection for organizations to exchange information safely trust patients and advance public health goals.
Becerra says that while the American public may not know about TEFCA, they will soon see that something has changed in the way we care for health.
“At some point, it’s going to emphasize that something has changed. Suddenly, that expert immediately has the information it needs to keep you alive,” he says.
He said that while healthcare interoperability should have happened a long time ago, “we’ve taken on this bear and it’s going to be of great benefit to a lot of people.”
Becerra said TEFCA will reduce healthcare costs, benefiting patients and support providers. Interoperability brings better connectivity to patient care, reduces the risk of medical errors, and prepares America for future healthcare crises.
“It does that by connecting doctors and patients with more complete and accurate health records and by allowing patients to access their records.”
After presenting the certificate to Paul Wilder, chief executive officer of CommonWell Health Alliance; Jay Nakishima, CEO of eHealth Exchange; Judith Faulkner, CEO of Epic; Steve Yaskin, Health Gorilla CEO; Jon Elwell, Kno2 CEO; Laura McCrary, CEO of KONZA and Yeager, Becerra said he believes all recognized people are in “the trenches” regardless of interests, as evidenced by how quickly they all came together. without asking or sponsoring.
“The team at ONC has taken us further than anyone ever believed, but we wanted to cross that finish line.”
Six QHINs covering most countries
Collectively, QHIN subscribers have networks that cover most US hospitals, tens of thousands of providers, and process billions of transactions annually across all fifty states, National Coordinator about Health Micky Tripathi said in a blog post, co-authored with Mariann Yeager, CEO of Project Sequoia.
TEFCA will enhance interoperability at scale for patients, healthcare providers, hospitals, public health agencies, health insurers and healthcare stakeholders other authorized health officer, they added.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control, said: “We cannot do basic public health work without case tracking and laboratory reporting of diseases. transmission without receiving data on deaths and causes”.
“We have to have a nationwide approach,” she said.
With public health authorities lacking access to health data that could help them make decisions, it was “a missed opportunity”.
Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator and chief executive officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, added: “CMS will build stronger muscle to use our authorities to ensure that Your work really pays off.
TEFCA is the future of possibilities
Dr. Arati Prabhakar, scientific adviser to President Joe Biden and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, explains why we can’t get our medical records straight. Circuitry is a very complex business, which makes QHIN extremely important.
“We know how easily information travels in other parts of our lives,” she said.
She notes that working together between companies is no small thing, calling the partnership “a great example of what can happen when we push boundaries. “
Going forward, she said, TEFCA will make big changes to public health, the way patients are recruited for clinical trials, and how we unlock the power of data to deliver data. better treatment.
“Ultimately, what we’re working towards is the kind of deeper understanding that allows us to understand the origins of diseases and start eliminating them. I think that’s really starting to understand why this is the way it is. such a big problem and why is it such a big deal.” moment.”
By working together on this long and very important journey, this is how we do great things to change the way health is developed and advance health equity in the United States, she added.
“If we can do this, we will be able to realize one of the most important aspirations we have as a nation today, which is to improve health outcomes for every American regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation. , regardless of race, ethnicity or zip code,” she said.
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
