WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sequoia Project, selected by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the Recognized Coordinating Entity® (RCE™) to support the implementation of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common AgreementSM (TEFCASM), today, on behalf of ONC, designated the country’s first Qualified Health Information Networks™ (QHINs™) in a Common Agreement signing event alongside HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera, HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Micky Tripathi, in Washington, DC.
The newly designated QHINs include eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, KONZA National Network, and MedAllies.
“The QHIN selection and onboarding process was necessarily arduous to ensure the pioneering organizations were prepared to be the nation’s backbone for health information sharing,” said Mariann Yeager, CEO for The Sequoia Project and RCE lead. “Yet, these organizations pushed through the process in less than a year, meeting the aggressive timeline laid out by Secretary Beccera in February 2023.”
The RCE’s initial role was to develop the TEFCA in collaboration with ONC. Now that TEFCA is operational, the RCE will not only continue to onboard and designate QHINs, but will also advance the FHIR® Roadmap for TEFCA Exchange, roll-out additional exchange purposes, develop framework enhancements, oversee TEFCA governance, and spur adoption of TEFCA exchange. Additionally, The Sequoia Project provides industry-leading directory services for the designated QHINs and their participants and subparticipants.
“The RCE is excited to turn the corner from developing the TEFCA rules of the road to overseeing operational exchange among a growing number of healthcare entities,” continued Yeager. “We encourage wide participation by providers, payers, app developers, and others to ensure that health data is shared when needed to improve health and care.”
About The Sequoia Project
The Sequoia Project is a non-profit, 501c3, public-private collaborative chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The Sequoia Project focuses on solving real-world interoperability challenges and brings together public and private stakeholders in forums like the Interoperability Matters cooperative to overcome barriers. The Sequoia Project is also the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), for which it developed, updates, implements, and maintains the Common Agreement component of TEFCA and operationalizes the Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) designation and monitoring process. For more information about The Sequoia Project and its initiatives, visit www.sequoiaproject.org. Follow The Sequoia Project on Twitter: @SequoiaProject.
Contact: Dawn Van Dyke
Phone: (571) 346-2439
Email: dvandyke@sequoiaproject.org
