We are now well past the 21 year mark in our quest for healthcare interoperability. Under an executive order from president G W Bush (April 2004), the ONC was established and Dr. David Brailer was dubbed “America’s first Health Information Czar.” The Meaningful Use program was then born out of the HITECH Act and Merit-Based Incentive Payment System out of the MACRA legislation. And then information sharing from the CURES Act. And then the release of Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement (TEFCA). And now the CMS Interoperability Framework. All trying to move our healthcare system to the digital age, better outcomes, controlling and reducing costs, and patient access to their health data. It has not been an easy road and the debate of the journey will never end.
Industry and Contract News
C3HIE and Texas Health Services Authority Finalize Statewide Bidirectional Data-Sharing Agreement
In a groundbreaking development for healthcare interoperability in Texas, two of the state’s largest Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) – C3HIE and Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) – have signed a historic agreement for bidirectional sharing of encounter event messages for treatment purposes.
DirectTrust® Announces 2026 Accreditation Criteria Versions for All Accreditation Programs
DirectTrust®, a non-profit healthcare industry alliance focused on furthering trust in healthcare technology and data exchange through standards, accreditation, and other services, announced the release of new versions of program criteria for its 28 accreditation programs starting January 1, 2026.
Manifest MedEx Partners with NinePatch® to Launch Statewide Social Health Information Exchange for Whole Person Care in California
Manifest MedEx (MX), California’s largest nonprofit health information organization, and NinePatch®, a leading SaaS platform for Whole Person Health and Referral Information Exchange, announced a new partnership to launch a statewide social health information exchange (SHIE) platform that will combine social drivers of health (SDOH) information and tools, such as care assessments, program enrollment, closed-loop referrals, and consent management, with the more than 50 million longitudinal health records on MX’s health data network. MX’s new SHIE platform will be powered by NinePatch technology and made available to MX’s network of more than 140 hospitals, 19 health plans, 12 county health agencies, and 2,700 providers across the state.
HL7 International Appoints Professor Rachel Dunscombe as CEO to Lead Next Phase of Global Interoperability
Health Level Seven International (HL7®), the global authority on healthcare data interoperability standards, announced the appointment of Professor Rachel Dunscombe as its new Chief Executive Officer. Professor Dunscombe succeeds Charles Jaffe, MD, PhD, who concludes his tenure this month following nearly two decades of leadership.
eClinicalWorks and Sunoh.ai Assist 54-Provider AssociatesMD Enhance Productivity and Access to Care
eClinicalWorks®, the largest ambulatory cloud EHR, the largest ambulatory cloud EHR, announced that AssociatesMD is successfully leveraging Sunoh.ai, the leading AI medical scribe, across its nine locations in South Florida. The AI medical transcription solution, fully integrated with the eClinicalWorks EHR, adds documentation into the appropriate sections of the progress notes, saving significant time and reducing the documentation burden. This allows providers to see more patients in a day, improving access to patient care. Sunoh.ai is trusted by over 90,000 providers nationwide.
Flexpa Partners with Kno2 to Transform Patient Data Sharing
Flexpa, a technology provider enabling consumers to access their clinical records and insurance claims data partnered with Kno2, a federally designated Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) and CMS Aligned Network, to streamline consumer accessibility to their records across the continuum. The partnership combines Flexpa’s patient-authorized data aggregation with Kno2’s nationwide QHIN infrastructure, helping patients take control of their health data while reducing redundant data collection across care settings.
Community Memorial Hospital Chooses Oracle Health to Enhance Patient Care and Power Operational Excellence
Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) will replace its legacy health record systems with Oracle Health solutions to support innovation, optimize growth, and increase operational efficiency. In conjunction with Oracle Health Foundation electronic health record (EHR), CMH will use Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent, an AI-powered, voice-driven solution, to help automate clinical documentation and enable physicians to focus more time on patient care. In addition, the rural health provider will use Oracle Health Seamless Exchange to provide clinicians with access to comprehensive patient records and coordinate care with surrounding hospitals.
New Resource Highlights Pharmacy’s Role in Health Information Exchange
The Sequoia Project, a non-profit and trusted advocate for nationwide health information technology interoperability, released the draft Pharmacy Care: Use Cases for Health Information Exchange for public comment. The Interoperability Matters Pharmacy Workgroup is seeking feedback through February 13, 2026, via online form.
Healthcare Providers and Epic Act to Safeguard Patients’ Health Information
Epic and a group of healthcare providers are taking legal action to defend patient privacy and protect sensitive medical information. The lawsuit states that Health Gorilla, a health information network, enabled Mammoth, RavillaMed, and other companies to improperly access and monetize nearly 300,000 patient medical records from members of the Epic community.
Spotlight on Community Networks
The Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) and the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC) announced a formal affiliation between the two organizations to form a new organization named Civitas Networks for Health. The organization serves as a platform for local nonprofit health collaboratives and health information exchanges to grow and thrive. Read their latest news. Follow them @civitas4health.
Civitas Networks for Health® and Its Members Uniquely Poised to Support States in Transforming Rural Health Care Through New Federal Program
Civitas Networks for Health® announced its readiness to help states implement the newly launched Rural Health Transformation Program (RHT), a $50 billion federal initiative aimed at reimagining care delivery in rural communities across the country.
Civitas Networks for Health® Appoints Jolie Ritzo as New Chief Executive Officer
Civitas Networks for Health® is pleased to announce the appointment of Jolie Ritzo, MPH, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Jolie Ritzo brings over 15 years of experience in public health, nonprofit leadership, and cross-sector collaboration
State HIE News
Findhelp and Manifest MedEx Announce Data-Sharing Partnership to Advance Integration of Social and Health Care Data Across California
Findhelp, a national social care technology company, and Manifest MedEx (MX), California’s largest nonprofit health information exchange (HIE), announced a data-sharing partnership designed to strengthen the integration of social and clinical data to improve care coordination, advance whole person care, and support California’s Data Exchange Framework (DxF).
Detroit Free Press Names Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) A Winner of The Michigan Top Workplaces 2025 Award
MiHIN is proud to announce that it has been named a 2025 Michigan Top Workplaces award recipient. This honor is particularly meaningful because it is based entirely on direct, confidential feedback from employees about workplace culture, leadership, and overall experience.
Hires and Openings
CIVHC (Center for Improving Value in Health Care)
The Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) is an independent non-profit that equips partners and communities in Colorado and across the nation with the resources, services and unbiased data needed to improve health and health care. As the designated administrator of Colorado’s All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD), CIVHC oversees the collection of health care claims from Colorado’s public and private health care insurers and uses that information to promote price transparency, inform policy, advance health equity, conduct research, and much more. Check out their Current Openings.
Delaware Health Information Network
Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) was the first live, statewide health information exchange in the nation. Launched in 2007, today it serves all of Delaware’s acute care hospitals and nearly 100% of the state’s medical providers. More than 14 million clinical results and reports are delivered through DHIN each year. There are over three million unique patients with results on DHIN, including patients from all 50 states. DHIN shares real-time clinical information to improve patient outcomes, eliminate the duplication of services and reduce the cost of healthcare. Check out their current opening for Information Security Analyst.
Contexture
Contexture is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic, technical and administrative support to communities committed to advancing health through information sharing. As the leading health information exchange for Arizona and Colorado, Contexture is the largest health information organization in the western region. Check out their current openings.
healthEconnect Alaska
Hiring: Healthcare Engagement Specialist – healthEconnect Alaska is seeking an experienced healthcare professional who thrives on building relationships, supporting others, and driving healthcare efficiency. If you have at least five years of professional healthcare experience, a strong understanding of healthcare workflows, and a passion for whole-person care, they want to hear from you. View more information about the position.
HealthInfoNet
From the mountains to the coast, HealthInfoNet’s health information services are used by clinical and community providers to inform the care they provide to their communities. Their guiding principle is to endlessly craft better, easier, and safer solutions to facilitate improvements in health outcomes, risks, conditions, and drivers. They have the following openings:
Upcoming Events
Civitas Annual Conference
When: September 22-24, 2026
Where: Crystal City VA
Event Page
Register coming soon.
Hashtag: #Civitas2026
They are pleased to share that the 2026 Civitas Annual Conference Sponsorship Prospectus is now available! The Civitas Annual Conference brings together leaders from across the health data and health improvement ecosystem—including Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), Health Data Utilities (HDUs), Community Information Exchanges (CIEs), Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives (RHICs), public health organizations, quality improvement organizations, policymakers, and national partners—to advance collaboration and real-world implementation.
ONC's Cures Act Final Rule
In May of 2020 the 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program released by the ONC and published in the Federal Register.
The TEFCA Players
ONC Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE)
The Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) – The Sequoia Project (@sequoiaproject)is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the Common Agreement component of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). The Common Agreement is the baseline technical and legal requirements for health information networks to share electronic health information and is part of the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).
In addition they will collaborate with ONC to designate and monitor Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN), modify and update an accompanying QHIN Technical Framework, engage with stakeholders through virtual public listening sessions, adjudicate noncompliance with the Common Agreement, and propose sustainability strategies to support TEFCA beyond the cooperative agreement’s period of performance.
On August 28, 2023, the ONC awarded The Sequoia Project 5-Year TEFCA RCE Contract to continue their services.
RCE Resource Library – which includes a guide to the Common Agreement, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), technical documents, and other resources that make up TEFCA’s rules of the road. Start your journey to next generation interoperability here.
The Sequoia Project and Carequality Annual Meeting 2025
See keynote from CMS DOGE & ASTP Keynote ( Welcome & CMS DOGE & ASTP Keynote | Sequoia & CEQ Annual Meeting 2025 ), trusted exchange (Putting the Trust in Trusted Exchange | Sequoia & CEQ Annual Meeting 2025), CMS-Aligned Networks (CMS Aligned Networks | Sequoia & Carequality 2025 Annual Meeting),and more sessions, speakers and topics.
To review all of the recordings post event and see what everyone is talking about:
- Videos here and scroll down: The Sequoia Project
Designated QHINs as of February 2024
Candidate QHINs
Organizations that have completed the Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™) application and have been accepted into the project planning and testing phase of the on boarding and designation process.
Interoperability Market
According to research by Grand View Research, the global healthcare interoperability solutions market size was estimated at USD 3.42 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.15% from 2024 to 2030. An increase in the adoption of interoperability solutions by healthcare authorities, a rise in investments to enhance healthcare facilities, favorable government initiatives to improve patient care, high government funding, and a focus on patient-centric care are some major factors propelling the market growth. In February 2023, the federal government provided USD 505 million to federal data partners and Canada Health Infoway to advance digital health tools and an interoperability roadmap. Thus, the rising investments and funding from government bodies are anticipated to drive the industry growth.