ONC: Six health information networks to implement exchange agreement      

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology today announced the first six health information networks that will begin to implement the voluntary Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, a common set of rules required by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 and finalized last year to securely and more easily exchange health care information between networks and providers. According to ONC, Commonwell Health Alliance, eHealth Exchange, Epic TEFCA Interoperability Services, Health Gorilla, Kno2 and KONZA will work with coordinating entity the Sequoia Project to begin the TEFCA onboarding process to become Qualified Health Information Networks, which they expect to go live within 12 months. 

“Collectively, the QHIN applicants have networks that cover most U.S. hospitals, tens of thousands of providers, and process billions of annual transactions across all fifty states,” officials said.

The announcement was made at an event attended by AHA and headlined by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Principal Deputy Administrator Jon Blum.