First Federal Health Agency Joins TEFCA, Selecting eHealth Exchange as its QHIN

VIENNA, Va., Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- eHealth Exchange™, one of the nation’s oldest and largest health information networks, today announced that the Indian Health Service (IHS) has selected it as its Designated Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™) and is now live on the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™).

Most federal agencies that deliver or pay for healthcare for Americans are currently evaluating their strategies for TEFCA. IHS is the first to act on its plans by selecting eHealth Exchange, a network with more than a decade’s history supporting the health data exchange needs of federal agencies, among other stakeholders.

The Indian Health Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states. IHS is comprised of 45 hospitals (including 19 critical access hospitals), 59 health centers, and 32 health stations.

“IHS is showing leadership in its decision to join TEFCA,” said Dr. Micky Tripathi, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and acting Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at HHS. “I’ve been working with other federal agencies to stress the importance and value of participating in TEFCA – for them, and more importantly, for the American people. I applaud IHS for being the first federal partner to join TEFCA, and I look forward to seeing others following their lead.”

IHS has been working with eHealth Exchange since 2011 when the network was originally formed. It has been an eHealth Exchange participant since 2020 and has long-standing representation on the eHealth Exchange Coordinated Committee, a group of federal and non-federal participants who collectively provide governance, oversight, management, and support of the trust framework for eHealth Exchange network participants.

“eHealth Exchange has been our national network of choice for over a decade. As we contemplated our participation in TEFCA, eHealth Exchange was a logical choice for Indian Health Service,” said Mitch Thornbrough, Chief Information Officer at IHS. “While we work through tribal consent requirements, we wanted to ensure technical readiness for TEFCA exchange with the private sector, public health, and regional and state health information exchanges (HIEs).”

“As IHS looks to advance its data modernization efforts, we’re thrilled that it continues to trust eHealth Exchange as its network of choice – most recently by joining TEFCA via eHealth Exchange’s Designated QHIN,” said Jay Nakashima, president of eHealth Exchange. “As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited about the opportunity to expand TEFCA connectivity to even more federal agencies. eHealth Exchange continues to be the principal way agencies exchange clinical data with the private sector.”

About the eHealth Exchange
eHealth Exchange, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to public good, is the oldest and largest health information network in the country and is most well known as the principal way the federal government exchanges clinical data among federal agencies and with the private sector. Recognized for certified data quality, trusted governance, transparency, and its commitment to privacy, eHealth Exchange facilitates the secure exchange of patient records for more than 250 million patients and processes roughly 21 billion data exchanges annually. Vendor-agnostic, with a broad public health focus, eHealth Exchange provides connectivity for more than 30 electronic health record systems, 58 regional and state HIEs, 75 percent of U.S. hospitals, 85 percent of dialysis centers, 70,000 medical groups, and payers in 34 states – as well as countless urgent care centers, surgery centers, and clinical laboratories. Five federal agencies (Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, and Social Security Administration) participate in the network to share patient information with private-sector partners as well as other federal agencies. Active in all 50 states, eHealth Exchange connects to other national health information networks today via Carequality and now TEFCA as a Designated QHIN. See: https://ehealthexchange.org / @ehealthexchange.

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