As healthcare continues to digitize, the need for secure, efficient data exchange continues to be very important. Yet, many healthcare providers still struggle with fragmented systems and trust issues in data sharing. How can we ensure reliable and scalable nationwide health information exchange?
Last month, the National Network Annual Meetings in Nashville offered valuable insights into addressing this challenge. This article covers key takeaways from these meetings, focusing on strategies to build trust and align with TEFCA (Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement) for improved health data exchange in 2025.
The Importance of Trust in Health Data Exchange
The 2024 National Network Annual Meetings in Nashville brought together three major networks: eHealth Exchange, Carequality, and TEFCA (The Sequoia Project). Despite their distinct identities, a common thread wove through all discussions – the critical importance of aligning with TEFCA to build trust and scale nationwide data exchange efforts.
This alignment represents a significant shift in the healthcare industry’s approach to nationwide data sharing. By adopting a common set of standards and practices, these networks aim to create a more unified and trustworthy ecosystem for health information exchange.
Learning from Past Challenges
The meetings also addressed recent challenges that have impacted trust in health data exchange. Trust related issues that arose in 2024 served as a valuable learning opportunity for TEFCA and its certified Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs). They are now collaborating to develop approaches that can be operationalized and scaled, ensuring that such trust concerns are minimized in the future. These enhanced business and technical policies and procedures are now filtering out to the other existing national networks as they seek to align with emerging TEFCA guidelines.
Building trust is paramount in health data exchange. 2024 taught us the importance of robust, scalable approaches to enhance trust in our nationwide data exchange networks.
TEFCA Aligning with TEFCA: What It Means
Adapting Policies and Practices
Alignment with TEFCA involves more than just technical compliance. It requires networks like eHealth Exchange, Carequality, and CommonWell Alliance to adapt both their business and technical practices to align with TEFCA’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
While not every TEFCA SOP will fit perfectly into each network’s governance or technical structure, there are core principles that can be widely adopted. This adaptation process is crucial in restoring and maintaining trust in data exchange across the healthcare ecosystem.
Core Principles for Building Trust
Several key principles emerged from the meetings as essential for building trust in health data exchange:
- Clearer definitions of Exchange Purposes, particularly Treatment
- Objective criteria for vetting new network participants
- Enhanced network-level traffic monitoring to ensure reciprocity in treatment based data exchange
These principles aim to create a more transparent, accountable, and reciprocal environment for data sharing. For instance, TEFCA’s new Required Treatment definition provides a clear, working example of how to define Exchange Purposes in a way that’s easily understood by all network participants.
Preparing for 2025: Next Steps for Network Participants
Staying Current with key TEFCA SOPs
As the healthcare industry moves towards greater alignment with TEFCA, it’s crucial for network participants (current and prospective) to stay informed about the latest TEFCA Standard Operating Procedures. Key areas to focus on include:
- Understanding what types of entities and providers are permitted to exchange data via TEFCA Required Treatment based exchange
- SOP: Exchange Purpose (XP) Implementation: Treatment, Section 5.3
- Understanding other potential exchange purposes
- Understanding the two different treatment-specific Exchange Purposes, including the definition of Required Treatment under TEFCA
- SOP: (Exchange Purpose (XP) Implementation: Treatment, Sections 4 and 5
- Understanding new participant vetting policy and processes
Staying up-to-date with these TEFCA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will help organizations prepare for the changes coming in 2025 and ensure they remain compliant with evolving standards.
Engaging in Ongoing Education
To help healthcare organizations navigate these changes, industry leaders are offering educational opportunities. For example, Zen is hosting an Interoperability Office Hours session focused on aligning with TEFCA in January 2025.
As we move into 2025, understanding and implementing TEFCA alignment will be crucial. Our upcoming Office Hours session will dive deep into new vetting processes and what to expect in nationwide data exchange as TEFCA continues to provide a model on how to improve trust.
Join Marilee Benson for her first 2025 Interoperability Office Hours, Aligning with TEFCA, on January 16th at 11:30 AM Central Time. Register here. She’ll dive into the latest TEFCA vetting processes and explore what’s ahead in 2025 for nationwide data exchange. today.
Conclusion
The 2024 National Network Annual Meetings in Nashville highlighted the critical importance of trust in health data exchange. As we move into 2025, aligning with TEFCA emerges as a key strategy for building this trust and scaling nationwide data exchange efforts.
By adopting clearer definitions, implementing objective vetting criteria, and enhancing network monitoring, healthcare organizations can contribute to the building of a highly trusted nationwide data exchange ecosystem.
Need Assistance?
As you map out your 2025 strategy related to healthcare data exchange, Zen’s API access to the national networks, along with our expertise in interoperability best practices, can help your organization navigate these changes more effectively.
To learn more about how Zen can support your organization’s journey towards trusted, nationwide data exchange, contact our team today.
