The Sequoia Project has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to help create and implement an interoperability framework for electronic health information sharing.
HHS said Tuesday the nonprofit organization will serve as the recognized coordinating entity responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining the common agreement component of ONC’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. The Sequoia Project will work to create the baseline technical requirements for health information networks looking to join in the framework and monitor their compliance with the common agreement.
Mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act, the framework aims to improve the sharing of electronic health records by reducing technical and legal burdens for health information networks and addressing challenges that hinder trusted exchange of data. ONC Chief Don Rucker said the organization was selected as the recognized coordinating entity through a competitive process.