Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement-qualified health information networks may now adopt and implement version 2.0 of the Common Agreement, which was released on April 22 by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and The Sequoia Project, the TEFCA-recognized coordinating entity.
The Common Agreement makes it possible for users on different health information networks to share information securely by establishing a governing approach and infrastructure model, the Department of Health and Human Services said Monday.
One of the features of CA v2.0 is a requirement to support Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources Application Programming Interface exchange. The requirement would further facilitate information sharing as well as user access to healthcare information via one’s preferred app through TEFCA.
According to Micky Tripathi, national coordinator for health information technology, “We have long intended for TEFCA to have the capacity to enable FHIR API exchange. This is in direct response to the health IT industry’s move toward standardized APIs with modern privacy and security safeguards, and allows TEFCA to keep pace with the advanced, secure data services approaches used by the tech industry.”
Accompanying the release of CA v2.0 is the Participant and Subparticipant Terms of Participation, which covers the requirements that interested parties seeking to join TEFCA must agree to and comply with.
