Epic Systems Reaches Milestone in Interoperability with TEFCA-Qualified Health Information Network
Epic Systems announced a significant achievement on Monday, revealing that a growing number of hospitals and clinics are now exchanging health data across its TEFCA Qualified Health Information Network.
Why It Matters
The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) was established to meet the health data exchange requirements outlined in the 21st Century Cures Act. This framework plays a crucial role in ensuring that any medical provider can participate in nationwide patient data exchange, standardizing the secure exchange of critical health information at the point of care.
By onboarding 1,000 hospitals and thousands of clinics to exchange data, Epic’s TEFCA Qualified Health Information Network aims to lower historic barriers to data interoperability, especially for health systems in rural and underserved communities.
Dr. Matthew Eisenberg, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at Stanford Healthcare, highlighted the importance of TEFCA exchange in providing better-informed diagnoses, reducing duplicate tests, and improving care plans and outcomes. Patients having access to their health data at the point of care can also play an active role in their own care.
The Larger Trend
Epic joined TEFCA in 2022 and subsequently launched its QHIN, with 24 health systems including Stanford being the first to join. The company’s focus on making TEFCA access quick and easy for its EHR provider customers reflects its commitment to seamless data exchange.
As part of its efforts to align with TEFCA, Epic aims to transition all Epic EHR users to data exchange via Nexus by the end of the year. Additionally, Carequality, a health information network Epic has been involved in for over a decade, announced its alignment with TEFCA last year.
On the Record
“The energy around TEFCA adoption is clear, and the Epic community is leading the way,” said Rob Klootwyk, Epic’s Director of Interoperability. Dr. Eisenberg also expressed his enthusiasm for the provider organizations joining this effort.
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News. Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
