HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT unveiled 13 new elements for its Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, which works toward achieving a single pathway to interoperability across health information networks.
The framework, as required by the 21st Century Cures Act, implements policies, procedures and technical standards to support a single pathway toward interoperability.
ONC awarded a cooperative agreement to the Sequoia Project in August 2019 to serve as the Recognized Coordinating Entity of the project and be responsible for the development and implementation of the initiative.
The Sequoia project unveiled the following 13 elements of the interoperability initiative, which is still under development and set to be finalized by early 2022:
- Definitions
- Exchange purposes
- Participants and subparticipants
- Required flow-down provisions
- Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement information and required information
- Governing approach to exchange activities under the agreement
- Designation and eligibility criteria for a nationwide health information network
- Cooperation and nondiscrimination
- Directory service for covered entities
- Individual access services
- Privacy and security
- Special requirements (including consent)
- Fees
The Sequoia Project is also calling on stakeholders to share their feedback on the elements by Oct. 21.
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