“Today we are pleased to announce the timeline for the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). The 21st Century Cures Act, signed by President Obama in 2016, calls on ONC to ‘develop or support a trusted exchange framework, including a common agreement among health information networks nationally.'”
“In August 2019, ONC awarded a cooperative agreement to The Sequoia Project to serve as the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) to administer a new nationwide network based on the Common Agreement. Since then, ONC and the RCE have worked together to gather industry-wide stakeholder input to draft and refine the approach to enabling nationwide health information exchange across different health information networks. The timeline released today—for completion of the Trusted Exchange Framework, the Common Agreement Version 1 and the Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) Technical Framework (QTF) Version 1—establishes our goal to have this new network open for participation in the first quarter (Q1) of calendar year 2022…”
TEFCA timeline and process
“Today, ONC and the RCE are announcing a timeline and process to achieve a successful launch of the TEFCA framework within a year. Specifically, our goal is to open up participation in Q1 of calendar year 2022 and there is much to do between now and then.”
“Our work on TEFCA has a number of key components. Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) are networks that agree to the common terms and conditions of exchange with each other (as specified in the Common Agreement) and to the functional and technical requirements for exchange (as specified in the QHIN Technical Framework or QTF).”
“The RCE has already received considerable market input over the last two years. There will be more opportunities for additional stakeholder input to the Common Agreement and QTF throughout the remainder of 2021, including reconvening of the Common Agreement Work Group comprised of prospective QHINs and their participants.”
“We welcome input on all aspects of the TEFCA model including such topics as required and optional exchange purposes, privacy and security policies, required and optional exchange patterns, and incorporation of Health Level Seven (HL7®) International® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard in the QTF roadmap. This collaborative process will culminate with publication of the Common Agreement V1 Final and QTF V1 Final in Q1 of calendar year 2022, at which point health information networks will be able to apply to become QHINs and, after approval, begin on-boarding on a rolling basis…” Read the full press release here.
Source: TEFCA Will be Live in 2022 – By Micky Tripathi and Mariann Yeager, July 13, 2021. ONC Health IT Buzz.
