The eponymous sign outside Epic’s headquarters in Verona, Wisconsin.
Source: Yiem via Wikipedia CC
Epic systemThe health care software giant, whose technology is used in thousands of hospitals and clinics across the country, said on Friday that it plans to move all of its customers to a new government-backed medical records exchange 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 TEFCAto provide a legal and technical framework for securely sharing patient data.
TEFCA launches in December and Epic speak The company’s current goal is to have “the entire Epic community” online by the end of 2025. Epic says all customers should commit to switching a year earlier.
Sending medical records between different hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations is incredibly complex. Information is stored in different formats across dozens of different providers, making it difficult for doctors and other providers to access all the relevant data about their patients. Epic stores records on 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 around patient data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAAis a federal law that requires patient consent or understanding for third party access.
Several companies and organizations have formed to try to streamline the exchange of healthcare information, but TEFCA is designed to help bring all the different players together. Given Epic’s significant reach and 45-year history in the market, its commitment to TEFCA will likely bolster the exchange’s credibility.
In addition to Epic’s announcement, an interoperability network called Carequality, But also said Friday that it is working to affiliate with TEFCA. Carequality includes Epic as a member.
To participate in Carequality, organizations must be vetted and must agree to a clear “permissible purpose” for exchanging patient records. For example, a “treatment” permissible purpose means that the physician or hospital requesting the data is providing care to the patient in question.
Carequality has found itself caught up in controversy earlier this year after Epic said some network participants requested records for reasons other than treatment. Carequality said Friday it was amending its policy to align with TEFCA’s definition of treatment, which could help prevent such conflicts in the future.
“Carequality supports and encourages all appropriate and secure exchange of health information, and to that end has been involved in the development of TEFCA and is actively supporting those who are participating in TEFCA or looking to transition to TEFCA,” Carequality said in a blog post on Friday.
Epic said it commended 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 as they transition to TEFCA, the statement said.
Epic says Carequality now connects more than 70% of hospitals, along with more than 50,000 clinics and more than 600,000 care providers.
“TEFCA is the nation’s best opportunity to lift the remaining 30% of U.S. hospitals out of stagnation and strengthen trust between data exchange networks and care organizations,” Epic said.
