The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said June 26 that it is strengthening the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), the national network that helps patients and healthcare providers securely share electronic health information.
In less than one year, the number of health records exchanged through TEFCA has grown from 10 million to more than 1 billion.
To support continued growth of TEFCA, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology awarded a new contract to strengthen oversight of the network and verify that organizations participating in TEFCA follow required policies and procedures.
ONC is also conducting additional reviews of Qualified Health Information Networks and their participants to help ensure compliance with TEFCA rules and operating requirements, HHS said in a press release.
“Americans deserve secure, timely access to their health records,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “We are strengthening TEFCA to put patients in control of their health information, improve care coordination, and ensure health data moves securely where it is needed. Access to your own health records is a fundamental right.”
The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology oversees TEFCA, which is meant to create a common baseline for nationwide health information exchange.
Thomas Keane, national coordinator for health IT, observed: “Exchange across the TEFCA network is just getting started. ONC is executing against its mission to ensure the network is secure and that the quality of data exchanged allows for better clinical outcomes.”
Keane also noted that as ONC identifies any behaviors on the network that are “potentially civilly or criminally actionable, including information blocking and fraud,” the agency will refer them to the appropriate agencies for investigation.