Dive Brief:
- The Trump administration is increasing oversight over the TEFCA data exchange framework as health record sharing under the network increases rapidly.
- The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has awarded a new contract to verify that organizations participating in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement are following its policies and procedures, the agency said Friday. The contract, worth $1.3 million, was given to Maryland-based IT consultant and provider Alliance Global Tech, an ONC spokesperson told Healthcare Dive.
- ONC is also conducting additional reviews of Qualified Health Information Networks and their participants to ensure compliance with the framework’s rules.
Dive Insight:
TEFCA, a nationwide governance framework for health data exchange created by the federal government, first went live in 2023. Under the agreement, participants like health systems, hospitals and public health agencies connect to QHINs that use TEFCA standards to share health information.
The framework has expanded rapidly since its launch. More than 1 billion health records have now been exchanged through TEFCA, growing from around 10 million in January 2025, the ONC said Friday.
The number of QHINs has risen, too. TEFCA launched with five QHINs onboarded and ready for data exchange. Today, 11 QHINs have been approved, including last year’s new entrants eClinicalWorks, Netsmart, Oracle Health and Surescripts.
Now, ONC has awarded a new contract as part of a bid to increase oversight over TEFCA.
Alliance Global Tech offers cloud, cybersecurity and data products to government agencies and regulated industries, including healthcare, according to the company’s website. Some of the firm’s government clients include the CMS, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service.
The contract term is one year, according to a federal disclosure. But the deal could be extended through June 2031, which would increase the award amount to $5.6 million.
“Exchange across the TEFCA network is just getting started,” Dr. Thomas Keane, the national coordinator for health IT, said in a statement. “ONC is executing against its mission to ensure the network is secure and that the quality of data exchanged allows for better clinical outcomes.”
Health data exchange has become a priority for regulators. Earlier this year, Keane said ONC is taking steps to sanction companies that are blocking the free flow of health information. IT developers could lose certifications or face hefty fines if found to be information blocking, he said.
Interoperability has also been at the center of a high-profile lawsuit this year. Epic, the nation’s largest electronic health record vendor, sued Health Gorilla and several of its clients in January, alleging the health information network allowed companies to retrieve patient records for financial gain.
One client admitted to improperly accessing patient data this spring, and was permanently barred from requesting data through TEFCA and another interoperability framework called Carequality.
