We are now nearing the 20 year mark in our quest for healthcare interoperability. Under an executive order from president G W Bush (April 2004), 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.
Industry and Contract News
Selfii Selects MedAllies as its Qualified Health Information Network™ (QHIN™) Partner
MedAllies, a healthcare interoperability and connectivity services provider, announced that Selfii, a provider of privacy-preserving solutions transforming healthcare data into actionable insights for both individuals and institutions, has selected MedAllies as its Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) partner.
Biden administration to ease confusion about information blocking rules
The American Medical Association (AMA) enthusiastically supports the Biden administration’s proposal to give patients and physicians more control over health records without worrying about administrative and even criminal charges.
Edifecs and HealthEdge, Two Best in KLAS Technology Vendors, Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver Seamless Healthcare Data Exchange
Edifecs and HealthEdge announced a new partnership that natively integrates Edifecs’ EDI Gateway offerings and HealthEdge’s HealthRules Payer claims adjudication system. The partnership will make it easier for payers to exchange and connect healthcare data – reducing friction, strengthening business agility, and enhancing operational efficiency.
eClinicalWorks Becomes One of the First EHRs to Complete UDS+ Submission, Setting a New Standard in Healthcare Reporting
eClinicalWorks®, the largest ambulatory cloud EHR, announced its successful collaboration with HealthEfficient to complete Hyndman Area Health Center’s (HAHC) UDS+ (UDS Patient Level Submission) submissions to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
DirectTrust® Releases New 2025 Accreditation Criteria Versions for Public Review through November 22
DirectTrust®, a non-profit healthcare industry alliance focused on furthering trust in healthcare data exchange through standards, accreditation, and other services, announced it has posted new versions of program criteria for its 27 accreditation programs for public review and comment.
Secure Exchange Solutions DirectTrust® Accreditations Reinforce Commitment to Industry Excellence
Secure Exchange Solutions (SES), a Centauri Health Solutions company and provider of interoperable, cloud-based clinical data exchange technologies, announced it achieved full re-accreditation through DirectTrust® accreditation for Health Information Service Providers (HISP), Certificate Authority (CA), Registration Authority (RA), and HIPAA Privacy and Security. DirectTrust accreditation is the gold standard in the industry, recognizing organizations that have exemplified excellence in HIPAA, privacy, and security compliance standards while meeting rigorous policy requirements.
Clinical Architecture and 4medica Partner to Offer Innovative Harmonized Longitudinal Whole-Person Care Record Solution
Clinical Architecture, a provider of data quality and interoperability solutions, has entered into a strategic partnership with 4medica, a renowned health and community care information exchange and data management platform provider. This partnership combines the strengths of both companies to offer a comprehensive, high-quality longitudinal person record, underpinned by semantic normalization, to enhance whole-person care and downstream clinical and community care data use.
Spotlight on Community Networks
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. Read their latest news. Follow them @civitas4health.
Civitas Networks for Health 2024 Annual Conference
Join Civitas Networks for Health for their 2024 Annual Conference, “Bridging Data and Doing, taking place from Tuesday, October 15, to Thursday, October 17, at the Detroit Renaissance Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. This year’s conference aims to continue the valuable conversations and initiatives spurred by last year’s gathering in Maryland, focusing on the latest developments in health data sharing, community health, social determinants of health, health equity, and more. Register Now.
Collaboratives in Action: Building on Existing Infrastructure to Further Health Related Social Needs Screening
Civitas hosts quarterly Collaboratives in Action events focused on showcasing important industry data-driven, multi-stakeholder collaborations and initiatives. These educational webinars provide opportunities for sharing best practices, lessons learned, and practical insights into solutions. Here is a summary and resources from the May 23rd Collaboratives in Action event.
HIE Sponsors at Civitas Annual Conference
Don’t miss these sponsors at Civitas on October 15-17, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan: Contexture, Delaware Health Information Network, Utah Health Information Network, Chesapeake Regional Information Systems for Patients, Indiana Health Information Excange, Michigan Health Information Network, Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network, CliniSync and C3HIE.
State HIE News
C3HIE to Provide Technology Foundation for New TORCH Clinically Integrated Network
C3HIE, a non-profit, community HIE in Texas, announced that it will serve as the technology foundation for the new Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH) Clinically Integrated Network (CIN), which will provide rural hospitals in Texas with critical data infrastructure and tools for expanding care quality and access.
Hires and Openings
Civitas Networks for Health
Civitas Networks for Health is seeking a part-time Salesforce Developer and Administrator Contractor to design, develop, and maintain Salesforce solutions tailored to meet our specific business requirements. Civitas is a national nonprofit member- and mission-driven organization that supports local collaboratives in transforming healthcare operations through secure data exchange and multi-stakeholder health improvement initiatives.
Contexture
Contexture is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic, technical and administrative support to communities committed to advancing health through information sharing. As the leading health information exchange for Arizona and Colorado, Contexture is the largest health information organization in the western region. They currently have an opening for a Chief Legal Officer & Privacy Officer.
Delaware Health Information Network
Maestro Strategies is assisting DHIN (Delaware Health Information Network), in the recruitment of a key Director, Data Engineer to join their leadership team. This is an exceptional opportunity with one of the leading Health Information Exchanges in the country that, since 2007, has provided data at the point of care in order to enable providers to deliver high-quality, cost-efficient care.
eHealth Exchange
Active in all 50 states, the eHealth Exchange is the largest query-based, health information network in the country. It is the principal network that connects federal agencies and non-federal organizations, allowing them to work together to improve patient care and public health. They have an open positions for:
Health Gorilla
Health Gorilla aspires to cut through the noise and disrupt the healthcare information technology space – making interoperability possible and ensuring access for developers, providers, and patients. Join them in their quest to improve patient and physician satisfaction, care delivery, clinical and operational outcomes, and health equity. View all their current job openings.
KONZA
KONZA is seeking an Information Security Analyst. The KONZA Information Security Analyst plays an important role in the success of KONZA and its partners. KONZA is a fast-paced, energetic environment. This position is responsible for providing security, informational, and quality support. In addition, this position monitors and escalates system risks and executes HITRUST standards across normal operations.
North Carolina Department of Information Technology
The NC Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) is seeking its next mission-driven, highly motivated and detail-oriented data quality team lead. The Data Quality and Integrity Team Lead (DQIL) will be the in-house data expert, comfortable working with data and business processes to enable new and innovative use cases for NC HealthConnex, the state-designated health information exchange, as well as enhance the overall experience for NC HIEA participants across external NC HealthConnex services.
Virginia Health Information
Virginia Health Information is seeking a Director of Analytics. The Director of Analytics leads VHI’s data analysis team and is responsible for implementing the organization’s data reporting strategy. This role serves as the primary point of contact to external organizations regarding several of VHI’s data collection programs, including the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), Patient Level Data (PLD) and other data programs as assigned.
VITL
VITL is seeking a skilled technologist with a strong background in AWS technologies and expertise with the Linux operating system. The Linux SRE is responsible for building and maintaining distributed cloud solutions that support complex health data initiatives for the Vermont Health Information Exchange (HIE) and VITL. This position will support a team that is building data driven initiatives using Amazon AWS and open-source technologies. The Systems Engineer will also be responsible for building and maintaining systems in alignment with the security controls, governance processes, and compliance measures of VITL’s system security planning processes.
Upcoming Events
Civitas Networks for Health 2024 Annual Conference
When: October 15-17, 2024
Where: Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Detroit MI
Event Page
Register for this event.
Hashtag: #Civitas2024
Join Civitas Networks for Health for their 2024 Annual Conference –”Bridging Data and Doing”. This year’s conference aims to continue the valuable conversations and initiatives spurred by last year’s gathering in Maryland, focusing on the latest developments in health data sharing, community health, social determinants of health, health equity, and more.
Commonwell Health Alliance 2024 Annual Meeting and Fall Summit
When: November 4-5, 2024
Where: Renaissance Nashville, Nashville TN
Event Page
Register for this event.
The CommonWell Health Alliance Fall Summit is a the premier event dedicated to their shared mission of advancing healthcare interoperability. This annual gathering brings together the brightest minds and most passionate advocates from within and beyond the CommonWell community. Over two days, attendees will engage in insightful sessions, collaborative discussions, and dynamic networking opportunities, all focused on breaking down barriers to health information exchange. As they delve into cutting-edge advancements and share best practices, they reaffirm their commitment to seamless, secure health data sharing. Whether you’re a long-time Member or joining them for the first time, the Fall Summit is your platform to connect, innovate, and help shape the future of healthcare with CommonWell. Join them as they continue to drive meaningful change and transform healthcare for the better.
eHealth Exchange
When: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 3:30 – 4:30pm ET
Register for this event.
eHealth Exchange: TEFCA Technical Webinar – This webinar provides a monthly update on TEFCA technical specifications and updates with eHealth Exchange as a Designated QHIN. Many HIEs have already indicated their plans to join eHealth Exchange QHIN. Use this webinar as an opportunity to learn more about TEFCA-based exchange.
RCE Monthly Informational Call
When: Tuesday, November 19, 2024 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Register for this event.
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. View previous calls.
eHealth Exchange Annual Meeting
When: December 10, 2024
Where: Embassy Suites by Hilton, Nashville TN
Event Page
Register for this event.
It is that time of year again, time for them to share this year’s accomplishments with their eHealth Exchange participants. This year they are traveling to beautiful Nashville, TN. This years meeting topics and presentations will be partially based on feedback received from last years Annual Meeting Survey.
ONC's Cures Act Final Rule
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.
The TEFCA Players
ONC Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE)
The Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) – The Sequoia Project (@sequoiaproject)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.
On August 28, 2023, the ONC awarded The Sequoia Project 5-Year TEFCA RCE Contract to continue their services.
RCE Resource Library – which includes a guide to the Common Agreement, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), technical documents, and other resources that make up TEFCA’s rules of the road. Start your journey to next generation interoperability here.
Designated QHINs as of February 2024
Interoperability Market
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.