Epic Systems has committed to transitioning its entire community of hospitals and health systems to the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement by the end of 2025, with all organizations expected to be signed up by the end of 2024.
This move represents a strategic step forward in Epic's long-term vision for seamless, nationwide interoperability.
"This is the next step in the evolution that we've been working towards," Rob Klootwyk, director of interoperability at Epic, told Becker's. "We helped create Care Everywhere, our interoperability platform, which has seen great success. But as we looked at TEFCA, we saw an opportunity to push beyond the 70% interoperability plateau the industry has been stuck at for years and reach 100% of providers in the country."
TEFCA, which stems from the 21st Century Cures Act, is designed to create a nationwide network that allows for the secure exchange of health information across different EHR systems. Mr. Klootwyk highlighted that TEFCA offers a "single on-ramp for nationwide interoperability," ensuring that healthcare providers, regardless of their EHR system, can exchange patient records securely and efficiently.
"This is about ensuring that every provider in the United States can exchange records with others who are treating the same patient, enhancing the continuity of care," he said.
Epic has already made strides in this direction. The company became a Qualified Health Information Network under TEFCA nearly two years ago and has been working to develop and implement the necessary infrastructure. TEFCA went live in December, and Epic has since been supporting its customers in the transition.
Streamlining the transition
To support its community in this transition, Epic said it is taking steps to minimize the IT burden on hospitals and health systems.
"We work to make what's difficult for us easy for them," Mr. Klootwyk said, emphasizing that for many use cases, the IT lift is minimal. For example, enabling the treatment use case within TEFCA involves just one setting change.
Moreover, Epic is focusing on ensuring that the transition is not just a technical project but an operational one. The company is developing resources to help its customers understand the value of TEFCA and how to take advantage of the automation it offers. This includes reducing administrative burdens, such as eliminating the need for faxing in public health reporting, according to Mr. Klootwyk.
He acknowledged that while the transition involves some legal processes, such as agreeing to TEFCA's flow-down terms, the operational impact for most Epic customers should be minimal.
"Our community has already been doing treatment interoperability for over a decade," he said. "Now, it's just about scaling that up and taking full advantage of what TEFCA offers."
The road ahead
Epic's commitment to transitioning its entire community to TEFCA by the end of 2025 represents a milestone in advancing nationwide interoperability. Currently, 66 health systems, including Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, are operational with TEFCA, according to Epic's website. Mr. Klootwyk noted that interest in joining TEFCA has increased since the announcement.
"I think TEFCA is going to get a lot of things right," he said. "It's learning quickly based on industry needs, and it feels very much like we're working together, not just following government mandates. This is about doing the right thing for patient care and ensuring that interoperability is bidirectional, making records available wherever they need to be."