Anika Begay
The eponymous sign outside Epic’s headquarters in Verona, Wisconsin.
Source: Yiem via Wikipedia CC
Epic Systems, the healthcare software giant whose technology is used in thousands of hospitals and clinics across the country, said Friday that it plans to transition all of its customers to a new government-backed health records exchange system by the end of next year.
Epic is one of the groups that helped the federal government establish the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, to provide a legal and technical framework for securely sharing patient data.
TEFCA launched in December, and Epic said the company’s goal is now to have the “full Epic community” active on the network by the end of 2025. All customers should commit to the transition a year early, Epic said.
Sending medical records between hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations is notoriously complicated. Information is stored in a variety of formats across dozens of different providers, making it difficult for doctors and other providers to access all the relevant data about their patients. Epic hosts records for more than 280 million individuals in the United States, although patients often have records across multiple providers.
There are also significant barriers to accessing sensitive information due to privacy protections surrounding patient data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a federal law that requires patient consent or knowledge for third-party access.
Several companies and organizations have formed to try to simplify the exchange of health information, but TEFCA was designed to help bring all the different players together. With Epic’s spectacular reach and 45-year history in the market, the company’s commitment to TEFCA will likely bolster the exchange’s credibility.
In addition to Epic’s announcement, an interoperability network called Carequality also said Friday that it is working to align with TEFCA. Carequality includes Epic as a member.
To join Carequality, organizations are vetted and must agree to abide by clear “permitted purposes” for exchanging patient records. For example, the permitted purpose of “treatment” means that the doctor or hospital requesting the data is providing care to the patient in question.
Carequality found itself embroiled in controversy earlier this year after Epic alleged that some network participants were requesting medical records for reasons outside the scope of treatment. Carequality said Friday it would revise its policy to align with TEFCA’s definition of treatment, which could help prevent such conflicts in the future.
“Carequality supports and encourages appropriate and safe exchange of health information and, to that end, has been involved in the development of TEFCA and actively supports those participating in TEFCA or wishing to migrate to TEFCA,” Carequality said in a blog post on Friday.
Epic said it applauds Carequality’s decision to align with TEFCA and use the same definition of treatment. The company will continue to help customers facilitate exchanges through Carequality during the transition to TEFCA, the statement said.
Epic said Carequality currently connects more than 70% of hospitals, more than 50,000 clinics and more than 600,000 healthcare providers.
“TEFCA represents the country’s best opportunity to disentangle the remaining 30 percent of U.S. hospitals and build trust between data exchange networks and healthcare organizations,” Epic said.
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