Sharing Health Data Update August 2022

We have now past the 18 year mark in our quest for healthcare interoperability. Under an executive order from president G W Bush, the ONC was established and Dr. David Brailer was dubbed “America’s first Health Information Czar.” The Meaningful Use program was then born out of the HITECH Act and Merit-Based Incentive Payment System was then born our of the MACRA legislation. And then information sharing from the CURES Act. And now the release of Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement (TEFCA). All trying to move our healthcare system to the digital age, better outcomes, controlling and reducing costs, and patient access to their health data. It has not been an easy road and the debate of the journey will never end.

EHNAC Announces Finalized Criteria for Trusted Network Accreditation Program (TNAP) and Trusted Dynamic Registration & Authentication Program (TDRAAP)
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (@EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body for organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data, announced the release of new criteria versions for three of its accreditation programs – the Trusted Network Accreditation Program (TNAP-QHIN) and the Trusted Dynamic Registration & Authentication Accreditation Programs (TDRAAP-Basic and TDRAAP-Comprehensive).

August RCE Monthly Informational Call

Tuesday, August 16 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
The Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) hosts a public informational call as an opportunity to share information about the progress to-date on the third Tuesday of each month. Agenda for this month’s call is coming soon.
Register Here

This past August, The Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) and the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC) announced a formal affiliation between the two organizations to form a new organization named Civitas Networks for Health. The organization serves as a platform for local nonprofit health collaboratives and health information exchanges to grow and thrive.

Civitas News

Announced the addition of eleven new member organizations to its collaborative in the first quarter of 2022. As the largest national network of its kind, Civitas is comprised of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve the health of Americans.

The Civitas 2022 Annual Conference, a Collaboration with the DirectTrust Summit

It’s almost conference month! Thank you to three of our Silver Sponsors, @BambooHLTH, @ConsensusCS and @NuanceInc, for helping to bring our biggest event of the year to life.

Join our hybrid event – virtual and in-person registration is available!https://t.co/pyHUfG1fe3 pic.twitter.com/mCNJ3SUQxM

— Civitas Networks for Health (@civitas4health) July 29, 2022

State HIE News

HealthSYNC Among Latest to Earn Validated Data Stream Designation in New NCQA Data Aggregator Valida
The HealthSYNC (@HealthSYNCofLA) dba KONZA announced that it has earned the Validated Data Stream designation in the new National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Data Aggregator Validation program. It is part of the latest NCQA cohort to voluntarily seek and earn the new NCQA validation.

We are excited to announce that Connie has just launched another new feature, SNAPSHOT which will make it easier for authorized users to view a summary of key patient data within the Connie Portal. Learn more about SNAPSHOT: https://t.co/yrNtDjhdOi #ConnectwithConnie #HIE pic.twitter.com/Frr50BeEhb

— Connie (@Conniect5) July 28, 2022

Hawai‘i Health Information Exchange expands video resources for healthcare providers
Over the past 15 years, Hawai‘i Health Information Exchange (HHIE), a nonprofit organization designated as the state’s official health information exchange, has developed and refined a robust, reliable and secure system to enable providers to seamlessly access and exchange patient data from Hawai’i’s major healthcare providers. With support from the state Department of Human Services Med-QUEST Division, HHIE has created informational videos to help Medicaid and other providers obtain the most value from the information exchange by using all of its features.

The Sequoia Project’s Information Blocking Compliance Workgroup Releases Draft Resources, Seeks Public Feedback

The Sequoia Project released a set of draft resources for public feedback designed to help regulated entities better comply with the information blocking requirements of the 21^st Century Cures Rule. These documents were developed by The Sequoia Project’s Information Blocking Compliance Workgroup (IBWG), which is supported by The Sequoia Project’s Interoperability Matters initiative. Feedback is requested through August 19. The public can submit feedback via an online form or email InteropMatters@sequoiaproject.org.

NIH Request for Information (RFI) on Acquiring Electronic Health Record Data from Health Information Networks and Health Information Exchanges for the All of Us Research Program

Release Date: July 19, 2022
Response Date:August 31, 2022

This Request for Information seeks input on how to best acquire and integrate Electronic Health Record data from Health Information Networks and Health Information Exchanges into the All of Us Research Program dataset.

Lyniate Merges with CareCom, Further Extending Capabilities of Interoperability Leader
Lyniate (@lyniate), a healthcare data interoperability company, and CareCom (@CareComAS), a healthcare terminology management solutions company have entered into a definitive merger agreement. This strategic combination builds on Lyniate’s recently announced merger with NextGate, a longtime leader in patient identity data management, to further extend the company’s unique ability to offer the industry’s most complete suite of interoperability solutions.

Upcoming Event: eHealth Technologies™ to Sponsor the National Critical Issues Forum to Identify Strategies for Optimizing Organ Donation and Transplantation
eHealth Technologies (@eHealthTec), an innovator in retrieving and transforming complex medical records into actionable data for clinicians, is sponsoring the upcoming National Critical Issues Forum hosted by the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. The conference takes place in Orlando from September 15-16, 2022.

Briljent – Health Information Technology (HIT) Senior Consultant
The HIT Senior Consultant will work with a team to plan and implement solutions related to HIT and other innovations in health care administration. Consultants provide subject matter and business expertise to organizations, often providing project specific support to meet a particular goal or deliverable. Healthcare information consultants may be focused on specific areas such as pre-sales consulting, business process analysis, implementation or change management. The HIT Senior Consultant will report to the HIT Operations Manager and work closely with the HIT VP of Client Services.

MyHealth Access Network – IT Project Manager
The Project Manager role will be part of project management team responsible for successfully delivering MyHealth’s strategic projects, programs and/or work streams. MyHealth projects might include internal efforts to migrate or implement new technical solutions, adding new or select data contributors to the existing health information exchange, process improvement efforts, and focused endeavors to meet the requirements for special grants, products or programs. See all Job Openings

Comagine Health
Comagine Health has several openings, including Development Manager, Senior Research Associate, & Comagine Health Research and Evaluation Team. View more career opportunities.

Current Vacancies at The Sequoia Project
To apply, please send your resume to hr@sequoiaproject.org.
In-House Legal Counsel (Posted 12/17/21)
Full Time, Remote

According to Allied Market Research, the healthcare interoperability solutions market size was valued at $5,320.0 million in 2020, and is expected to reach $21,544.6 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 14.9% from 2021 to 2030. Interoperability in healthcare refers to timely and secure access, integration and use of electronic health data so that it can be used to optimize health outcomes for individuals and populations. As populations around the world age and people live longer, interoperability and data sharing are going to become increasingly critical for delivering effective healthcare. Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems to exchange health information and use the information once it is received.

According to the report published by Fior Markets, the global healthcare data interoperability market is expected to grow from USD 2.83 billion in 2020 and to reach USD 5.80 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 9.38% during the forecast period 2021-2028. The primary reasons driving healthcare interoperability market growth include a growing focus on patient care, a growing need to tighten healthcare costs, and government measures to improve patient experience of treatment. System interoperability, information interchange, and data availability are all important factors in improving health outcomes. Individual health data is mobilized throughout the whole range of care providers in health organizations, enabling coordinated, safe, and high-quality treatment that supports payment reforms, transparency efforts, and individuals’ ability to control their health.

In May of 2020 the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program released by the ONC and published in the Federal Register. Here is a quick timeline.

Certification

• 6/30/20 – General Effective Date
• 4/5/21 – Compliance requirements start for information blocking, assurance, and API
• 4/5/21 – HIT developers prohibited from restricting certain communications
• 12/15/21 – Submit initial real world testing plans
• 4/1/22 – 1st attestation to conditions of Cert required
• 12/31/22 – New HL7 FHIR API capability and other update criteria must be made available
• 3/15/23 – Submit initial real world testing results
• 12/31/23 – EHI export capability must be made available

ONC Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE)

The Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the Common Agreement component of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). The Common Agreement is the baseline technical and legal requirements for health information networks to share electronic health information and is part of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).

In addition they will collaborate with ONC to designate and monitor Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN), modify and update an accompanying QHIN Technical Framework, engage with stakeholders through virtual public listening sessions, adjudicate noncompliance with the Common Agreement, and propose sustainability strategies to support TEFCA beyond the cooperative agreement’s period of performance.

2022 TEFCA Timeline

Q1 of 2022

• Publish Common Agreement Version 1
• Publish QHIN Technical Framework (QTF) – Version 1 and FHIR Roadmap
• Initiate work to enable FHIR-based exchange
• Public education and engagement

Q2 of 2022

• QHINs begin signing Common Agreement and applying for designation

Q3 and Q4 of 2022

• Onboarding of initial QHINs
• Additional QHIN applications processed
• RCE establishes Transitional Council
• RCE begins designating QHINs to share data
• Prepare for TEFCA FHIR exchange pilots

Prospective QHIN Office House Session

The Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) will host a public office hour session every week this August as an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in Q&A. See the schedule and register for the events.

Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN)

To apply for QHIN Designation, a Health Information Network (HIN) must meet certain prerequisites, including already operating a network that provides the ability to locate and transmit EHI between multiple persons or entities electronically, with existing persons or entities exchanging EHI in a live clinical environment; and providing the RCE with a written plan of how it will achieve all of the requirements of the Common Agreement within a specified time period.

Feedback submissions for the draft QHIN Application and the draft QHIN Onboarding and Designation SOP are now closed. You can view the public comments for the application and the SOP.