By Buff Colchagoff, CEO, RosettaHealth
LinkedIn: Buff Colchagoff
LinkedIn: RosettaHealth
The night was cold, the sky filled with stars, and Santa’s vision was ambitious. He wanted to build a sleigh team to deliver presents worldwide in a single night.
The reindeer had a choice: join Santa now or wait to see if the idea took off. It’s not unlike the decision healthcare organizations face today: whether to join TEFCA and a QHIN now or adopt a wait-and-see approach.
Both scenarios offer compelling reasons to leap early rather than lag behind. Let’s take a closer look through a Christmas lens.
Broad Community Support: The Power of the Whole
Imagine being one of the first reindeer to step up. Santa’s team was supported not only by his determination, but also by a whole community of believers. The elves had built the infrastructure, children had written letters, and families had set out milk and cookies. It wasn’t just Santa driving this effort—it was a global push for something magical.
TEFCA and QHINs reflect a similar dynamic. Unlike past interoperability initiatives, which were often spearheaded by a single organization, this effort has broad backing from both Federal agencies and commercial entities. It’s not just about one entity pushing forward; it’s a community effort. Joining now means becoming part of a movement that has momentum and widespread support.
Comprehensive Solution: A Sleigh Built to Fly
Santa didn’t just grab a random sled and hope for the best. He had a comprehensive plan: a sleigh, reindeer harnesses, and a route optimized for efficiency. Each piece was critical, and without all of them, the mission would have failed.
Similarly, TEFCA and QHINs provide a complete foundation for interoperability. TEFCA sets the policy framework, QHINs serve as the hubs and infrastructure, and FHIR offers a standardized interface for data exchange. Past efforts faltered because they were incomplete, missing key components. This time, the system is designed to address the whole, ensuring that every part works together seamlessly.
Improved Solution: No More Patchwork Efforts
In the early days of delivering presents, there might have been scattered attempts: one elf trying to cover a village or a single reindeer making a solo flight. These efforts, while well-meaning, couldn’t scale. Santa’s unified sleigh team solved that problem by creating a cohesive, efficient solution.
Healthcare’s past interoperability solutions were similarly fragmented, with piecemeal approaches that didn’t address the broader needs of the system. TEFCA and QHINs change that by offering a common network service across the nation. It’s a streamlined, unified approach designed to handle the most common use cases at scale.
Not Just for Treatment: A Broader Mission
While Santa’s initial goal was to deliver presents, his team quickly realized they could bring joy in other ways: spreading cheer, building traditions, and inspiring hope. The mission grew beyond its original purpose.
TEFCA and QHINs are designed with a similarly expansive vision. While many clinical interchange solutions focus solely on treatment purposes, this initiative goes further. It supports public health reporting, individual access to records, and more. It’s about enabling a wider range of possibilities, not just addressing immediate needs.
Wrapping It Up: Why Join Team Santa (or a QHIN) Now?
For the reindeer who joined Santa early, the payoff was clear. They became part of a legendary team, celebrated in songs and stories for generations. For healthcare organizations, the advantages of joining TEFCA and a QHIN now are equally compelling.
The groundwork has been laid, the community is behind it, and the tools are better than ever. Innovative products like GetPatientRecords make the process simpler than the fragmented and complex solutions of the past.
Today’s healthcare organizations can embrace their “Rudolph moment” by joining the interoperability sleigh team. Just as Rudolph’s glowing nose made him indispensable, TEFCA compliance positions care systems as leaders in data exchange, fostering trust and recognition among patients and partners.
The question isn’t whether the sleigh will fly—it’s already taking off. The question is whether you’ll be on it when it does.