How TEFCA could Drive Payer-Provider Interoperability

Electronic health information exchange (HIE) between healthcare providers has grown in recent years, but interoperability between healthcare providers and payers is lagging. However, the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) could help bridge this gap.Born from the 21st Century Cures Act, TEFCA aims to improve health data interoperability across the healthcare ecosystem through a network of networks approach. ONC launched TEFCA in December 2023 by designating five initial qualified health information networks (QHINs). In February 2024, ONC designated two additional QHINs.TEFCA's recognized coordinating entity, The Sequoia Project, recently released several documents for stakeholder feedback, including draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) for healthcare operations and payment using TEFCA. During a panel at the 2024 WEDI Spring Conference, leaders from three QHINs -- eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus and Kno2 -- discussed the future of TEFCA for provider and payer interoperability.