oracle on Monday announced It plans to affix a brand new federally backed medical network designed to make it easier for clinics, hospitals and insurance firms to share patient data.
The network, called the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), was launched in December. Oracle, which acquired medical records giant Cerner for $28 billion in 2022, is the newest major vendor to support TEFCA, alongside its fundamental rival Epic Systems.
Oracle should be approved to affix TEFCA, but its interest in doing so helps bolster the credibility of the emerging network. It also suggests that TEFCA could reach introducing a brand new standard for data sharing practices across the healthcare industry.
Exchanging medical records between different hospitals, clinics and healthcare organizations is a notoriously complex process. Health data is stored in various formats across dozens of various providers, making it difficult for doctors and other providers to simply access all of their patients' relevant data.
“This is just a natural next step,” said Seema Verma, executive vp and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, in an interview with CNBC. “We are not into information blockades. We don’t have that reputation.”
Oracle's competitor Epic has long been accused of being slow to advance interoperability efforts, and Oracle hasn't shied away from taking the corporate to task. In a May Blog postKen Glueck, executive vp at Oracle, wrote: “Everyone in the industry understands that Epic CEO Judy Faulkner is the biggest obstacle to EHR.” [electronic health record] Interoperability.”
“Epic hopes that today’s announcement from Oracle Health shows that they are finally ready to take interoperability seriously – and deliver the technology that patients and providers deserve, rather than making distracting, untrue statements,” Epic said in a press release on Monday.
Several corporations and organizations have previously attempted to streamline healthcare information sharing, but TEFCA was designed to assist bring all of those stakeholders together at a national level. The network's primary goal is to finally standardize the legal and technical requirements for the exchange of patient data.
The fundamental groups participating in health data exchange through TEFCA are called qualified health information networks, or QHINs. These networks participate voluntarily – they will not be paid – and must undergo a two-step approval process to make sure they’re eligible and have the essential technical infrastructure in place.
Oracle announced Monday that it might begin the technique of becoming a QHIN. Seven QHINs, including Epic, at the moment are live to tell the tale TEFCA.
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