Partner Networks

CommonWell Health Alliance

The CommonWell Health Alliance is a non-profit industry consortium formed in 2013 with the goal of advancing interoperability and data exchange in healthcare. It brings together various healthcare technology companies and organizations to collaborate on developing and implementing standards and solutions for seamless health data sharing.

The alliance focuses on enabling health information exchange across different healthcare IT systems and platforms. Its members include electronic health record (EHR) vendors, healthcare providers, and other healthcare technology companies. Some notable members of CommonWell include Oracle Health (Cerner), Allscripts, Greenway Health, and athenahealth.

The CommonWell Health Alliance aims to address the challenges associated with data fragmentation and interoperability in the healthcare industry. It promotes the use of common standards and specifications, such as those defined by Health Level Seven International (HL7), and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) to facilitate the exchange of patient health information.

Through its collaborative efforts, CommonWell has developed a set of services and technologies that support secure and efficient health data sharing. These include patient identification and linking, record location, and query/retrieve capabilities. The alliance strives to enable healthcare providers and organizations to access comprehensive patient data when and where they need it, regardless of the specific EHR system or health IT infrastructure being used.

Carequality

Carequality is an industry-driven interoperability framework that facilitates healthcare data exchange among diverse healthcare organizations, networks, and health information exchange (HIE) platforms. It is a collaborative effort between private sector organizations and government agencies, aimed at achieving nationwide health data exchange in the United States. One of the primary objectives of Carequality is to create a trusted network of interoperable organizations that can share patient health information efficiently and securely. It establishes a common legal framework, technical specifications, and governance processes to enable connectivity and data exchange across participating entities.

Carequality operates on a "network-of-networks" model, with a set of common standards and specifications to enable the seamless and secure exchange of clinical information. It builds upon existing standards, such as IHE's Infrastructure Profiles, HL7's Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), HL7's Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA), and others. By leveraging these standards, Carequality aims to promote interoperability between different electronic health record (EHR) systems, health information exchanges, and other healthcare networks.

By leveraging the Carequality framework, healthcare providers, payers, and other stakeholders can access a broader set of patient health data, improve care coordination, and enhance clinical decision-making. It reduces the need for point-to-point connections and facilitates more efficient exchange of health information across organizational boundaries.

Carequality works in conjunction with other interoperability initiatives in the United States, such as the CommonWell Health Alliance, to further promote nationwide health data exchange and interoperability. Together, these initiatives aim to overcome the challenges associated with fragmented health data and enable seamless sharing of patient information.

eHealth Exchange

The eHealth Exchange is a nationwide health information network in the United States that enables secure and interoperable exchange of electronic health information among participating organizations. It serves as a network infrastructure for healthcare providers, government agencies, payers, and other authorized entities to share patient health records and clinical data. The eHealth Exchange operates as a public-private partnership and is governed by a consortium of healthcare organizations, including federal agencies, hospitals, health systems, health information exchanges (HIEs), and health IT vendors. The network adheres to robust security and privacy standards to ensure the protection of patient data during transmission and exchange.

The primary goal of the eHealth Exchange is to facilitate the secure exchange of patient health information across organizational boundaries, enabling better care coordination, improved clinical decision-making, and enhanced patient outcomes. It promotes interoperability by connecting disparate healthcare systems and enabling authorized users to access and exchange health records in a standardized and secure manner.

Participating organizations within the eHealth Exchange network agree to a common set of technical specifications and protocols to ensure the compatibility and consistency of health data exchange. These specifications include standards such as IHE's Infrastructure Profiles, HL7's Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA) and the Direct Project's secure messaging protocols.

The eHealth Exchange plays a crucial role in advancing nationwide interoperability in the United States. It works collaboratively with other interoperability initiatives, such as Carequality and the CommonWell Health Alliance, to bridge gaps in health data exchange and facilitate connectivity between different networks, EHR systems, and healthcare organizations.

TEFCA (coming soon)

TEFCA stands for the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. It is an initiative led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). TEFCA aims to establish a nationwide framework for trusted health information exchange in the United States. Under TEFCA, the ONC has developed a common agreement that outlines the principles, terms, and conditions for trusted health information exchange. The common agreement sets forth a standardized set of policies, technical requirements, and governance processes that participating organizations must adhere to when exchanging health information.

TEFCA aims to achieve the following key objectives:

1. Establish a baseline level of trust: TEFCA establishes criteria for participants in the health information exchange network to demonstrate their trustworthiness and adherence to privacy and security standards.

2. Promote nationwide connectivity: The framework aims to create a connected ecosystem where health information can flow seamlessly between different organizations, networks, and technology systems.

3. Enable patient access and control: TEFCA emphasizes the importance of empowering patients to have access to their health information and allowing them to control how their data is shared.

4. Foster competition and innovation: By standardizing policies and technical requirements, TEFCA aims to promote competition and innovation among health information exchange service providers, enabling a more vibrant and interoperable marketplace.

The implementation of TEFCA involves establishing Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs), which are entities that meet the requirements of the common agreement and act as intermediaries for health information exchange. QHINs facilitate the secure exchange of health information among participants and help overcome technical and policy barriers to interoperability.

TEFCA is a significant step towards achieving nationwide interoperability in the United States, as it provides a standardized framework and guidelines for secure and trusted health information exchange. It complements other interoperability initiatives, such as Carequality, the eHealth Exchange, and CommonWell, and aims to align and coordinate efforts towards seamless data sharing and improved care coordination.