On Monday, Oracle Corporation said that it would join the federal-medically backed network known as Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA. The company TEFCA unveiled last December with the goal of allowing the interconnectivity of patient information via clinics, hospitals, and insurance companies, thus in a way improving the interoperability of electronic health records in the medical sector.
Oracle, which acquired Cerner—the leading provider of medical records software—for $28 billion in 2022, becomes the latest major vendor to align with TEFCA, joining established competitor Epic Systems. While Oracle’s participation is pending approval, its commitment to TEFCA is poised to enhance the network’s credibility and signifies a potential shift toward standardized data-sharing practices within the healthcare industry.
It was even challenging in transmitting the medical records between the providers. The data just comes and goes in several forms via different systems that only make access of total patients’ data difficult for the service-providing entities.
The move has been made amidst criticism that Epic has been resisting interoperability efforts. Oracle has spoken publicly about these concerns, with Ken Glueck, Executive Vice President at Oracle, previously having criticized Epic’s CEO, Judy Faulkner, as a major obstacle to effective electronic health record interoperability. Epic responded to Oracle’s announcement by saying that it hopes this would mark a new beginning toward an actual commitment to interoperability.
TEFCA was designed to bring together many initiatives which are aimed at the standardization of healthcare information exchange at a national level. Its end goal is harmonizing both legal and technical infrastructure needed to make easy sharing of information about the patients. Organizations taking part in this network are known as Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs). They opt in for their services while being put through an extremely scrutinized two-step review process to ensure eligibility and proper technical capabilities.
Oracle announced it has plans to create the process to become a QHIN, to join the ranks of the other seven live QHINs within the TEFCA framework. These health technology giants are certainly a giant step forward to the better interoperability of data, critical for better patient care and operational efficiencies within the industry.
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