Epic Systems, the healthcare software giant whose technology is utilized in 1000’s of hospitals and clinics across the country, said Friday that it plans to maneuver all of its customers to a brand new, government-backed medical records exchange by the top of next yr.
Epic is one in all the groups that helped the federal government construct the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to create a legal and technical framework for the secure exchange of patient data.
TEFCA was introduced in December and Epic said The company's goal is now to have the “full Epic community” live to tell the tale the network by the top of 2025. All customers might be required to make the switch a yr earlier, Epic said.
Sending medical records between different hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities is notoriously complicated. Information is stored in several formats across dozens of various vendors, making it difficult for doctors and other providers to access all of their patients' relevant data. Epic hosts the records of greater than 280 million people within the U.S., although patient records are sometimes stored across multiple vendors.
Due to privacy concerns surrounding patient data, there are also significant hurdles to accessing confidential information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that requires patient consent or knowledge for third-party access.
Several firms and organizations have come together to streamline information sharing in healthcare, but TEFCA was designed to bring all of the several players together. Given Epic's enormous reach and 45-year history available in the market, the corporate's commitment to TEFCA will likely bolster the exchange's credibility.
In addition to Epic’s announcement, an interoperability network called Carequality, Also announced on Friday that it’s working on an alignment with TEFCA. Carequality has Epic as a member.
To join Carequality, organizations are vetted and must commit to adhering to clear “permissible purposes” for sharing patient data. For example, the permissible purpose of “treatment” signifies that the doctor or hospital requesting the info is treating the patient in query.
Carequality was embroiled in controversy earlier this yr after Epic said some network participants requested records for reasons that didn’t fall under the aim of treatment. Carequality said Friday it’s revising its policies to align with TEFCA's definition of treatment, which could help avoid such conflicts in the long run.
“Carequality supports and encourages all appropriate and secure exchange of health information and to that end has participated in the development of TEFCA and actively supports those wishing to participate in or move to TEFCA,” Carequality said in a blog post on Friday.
Epic said it welcomed Carequality's decision to align with TEFCA and use the identical treatment definition. The company will proceed to assist customers facilitate exchanges through Carequality as they move to TEFCA, the statement said.
According to Epic, Carequality currently connects over 70% of hospitals, in addition to over 50,000 clinics and greater than 600,000 care providers.
“TEFCA is the country’s best opportunity to unlock the remaining 30 percent of U.S. hospitals and build trust between data-sharing networks and care organizations,” Epic said.
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