More than half of hospitals, approximately 51 percent, intend to participate in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) for Health Information Exchange (HIE). Hospitals already involved in national HIE networks are more likely to join TEFCA. The findings highlight the need for increased education and engagement with low-resource hospitals. TEFCA aims to bridge the digital divide in health IT and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is developing educational resources.
More than half of hospitals, approximately 51 percent, have expressed their intention to participate in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) for Health Information Exchange (HIE). This finding was revealed through an analysis conducted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) using data from a survey conducted by the American Hospital Association (AHA) until December 2022.
The survey also indicated that 25 percent of hospitals were unaware of TEFCA, while 23 percent were aware of it but uncertain about their participation. Only 1 percent of the hospitals surveyed were aware of TEFCA but had no plans to participate.
It was observed that hospitals with fewer resources were both less aware of TEFCA and less likely to plan their participation. For instance, 29 percent of independent hospitals reported plans to join TEFCA, compared to 61 percent of hospitals that were part of multi-hospital systems. Similarly, 32 percent of critical access hospitals planned to participate, while 59 percent of non-critical access hospitals expressed the same intention.
Furthermore, the survey highlighted that 65 percent of hospitals already participating in national HIE networks such as eHealth Exchange, CommonWell, or Carequality planned to participate in TEFCA. In contrast, only 18 percent of hospitals not involved in national HIE networks expressed plans to join TEFCA.
The authors of a HealthITBuzz blog post, Kimberly Tavernia from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Jordan Everson from the ONC, acknowledged the need for increased education and engagement with low-resource hospitals based on the survey results. They noted that the trends observed align with broader data published by the ONC regarding hospitals, physicians, individuals, and the digital divide in health IT utilization.
TEFCA’s primary objective is to address the digital divide in health IT by simplifying and reducing the costs associated with interoperability. The ONC is actively developing educational resources to inform interested parties about TEFCA’s functioning. The Sequoia Project, recognized as TEFCA’s coordinating entity, has recently published a document to assist qualified health information networks (QHINs), participants, and sub-participants in meeting Common Agreement obligations.
According to the blog post, these resources, along with future outreach activities by designated QHINs, are expected to save entities interested in joining TEFCA significant time, resources, and legal fees. The ONC is also collaborating with federal and state partners to identify outreach opportunities specifically tailored to underserved healthcare providers.
The officials emphasized their commitment to facilitating TEFCA adoption to improve care coordination, reduce administrative burdens, enhance public health reporting, support emergency preparedness and response, and empower patients with access to their healthcare information.
