Epic Systems, a leading health-care software provider used by thousands of hospitals and clinics nationwide, announced on Friday its plan to migrate all of its clients to the new government-supported medical records exchange, known as the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), by the end of 2025. The company aims for full commitment from its customer base by the end of 2024.
TEFCA, launched in December 2023, is designed to offer a unified legal and technical framework for the secure sharing of patient data across various health-care systems. Epic has been actively involved in helping to establish TEFCA, which seeks to simplify and standardize the exchange of medical information, a process currently complicated by diverse data formats and multiple vendors.
Epic manages medical records for over 280 million individuals across the U.S., though these records are often dispersed among various providers. The transition to TEFCA aims to address the challenge of accessing comprehensive patient data, a process hindered by complex privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which requires patient consent for data access.
In conjunction with Epic’s announcement, the interoperability network Carequality also revealed its efforts to align with TEFCA. As a member of Carequality, Epic supports this alignment, which aims to clarify and standardize the permissible purposes for data exchange, including a revised definition of “treatment” to prevent misuse.
Carequality, which connects over 70% of hospitals and 50,000 clinics, has committed to TEFCA’s framework to enhance the reliability and security of health information exchanges. Epic endorsed Carequality’s policy revision, emphasizing the critical role of TEFCA in bridging gaps in national health data exchange and building trust across data networks.
Epic’s transition to TEFCA is poised to significantly advance the integration and accessibility of patient records, benefiting health-care providers and patients alike.
