The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on July 13 announced a timeline for the start of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TECFA), a provision in the 21st Century Cures Act intended to improve interoperability.

Under TEFCA, Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) will 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). Under the timeline, ONC hopes to open up participation in the Common Agreement in Q1 of calendar year 2022.

This announcement has been anticipated since ONC awarded a cooperative agreement in 2019 to The Sequoia Project to serve as the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) to administer a new nationwide network based on the Common Agreement. Additional information is expected to be published in coming months, including details about the QHINs, technical requirements and other information on how organizations can join networks that have entered into the TEFCA.

Get more information on the TEFCA here. View the full ONC announcement here.

Clinical Topics: Cardiovascular Care Team

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Sequoia, Medical Informatics, Information Services

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