We are now well past the 20 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 was then born our of the MACRA legislation. And then information sharing from the CURES Act. And now the release of Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement (TEFCA). 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
Massachusetts MIIS Leads the Nation in VTrckS API Phase 3 Implementation
In a landmark achievement for Immunization Information Systems (IIS) modernization, the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), working with the team at Strategic Solutions Group (SSG) LLC, became the first jurisdiction to successfully go live with Phase 3 of the VTrckS API. This milestone marks a significant shift from legacy file-based processes to real-time, automated data exchange with the CDC’s Vaccine Tracking System (VTrckS). SSG was also among the first to implement Phase-1 and Phase-2 and automate the vaccine shipment data importing from CDC to IIS.
Advancing Data Integrity: DAV Cohort 10 Reflects KONZA’s Continued Leadership
Every patient encounter, every quality score, and every care decision depends on one thing: the accuracy of the data behind it. That’s why KONZA Health is launching Cohort 10 of the NCQA Data Aggregator Validation (DAV) program — a national certification that confirms whether clinical data is complete, trustworthy, and ready to use for quality reporting.
eClinicalWorks and healow Genie Partners with Main Street Medical Clinic to Transform Patient Experience, Offering Multilingual Functionality
eClinicalWorks®, the largest ambulatory cloud EHR, announced that Main Street Medical Clinic has selected healow® Genie, a revolutionary AI-powered contact center solution. This partnership marks a significant advancement towards enhanced patient communication and improved workflows to meet the clinic’s diverse services.
Massachusetts Health Data Consortium and ZeOmega, Inc. Launch Statewide Network to Automate Prior Authorization and Clinical Data Exchange
The Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDC), in partnership with ZeOmega, Inc., has launched a network solution to automate prior authorization and streamline clinical data exchange for quality measurement among Massachusetts health plans and providers.
HL7 International Launches AI Office to Set Global Standards for Healthcare’s AI Revolution
Health Level Seven International (HL7®), the global authority on healthcare data interoperability, launched its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office to establish foundational standards for safe, trustworthy AI in healthcare and convene the global community driving this transformation.
Altera Digital Health Selects MedAllies as a Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™) Partner
Altera Digital Health, a global health IT leader, announced its selection of MedAllies as its Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) partner for Paragon Denali, a cloud-native electronic health record (EHR) system for rural, critical access and community hospitals; TouchWorks EHR, an EHR designed for independent provider practices; and dbMotion, an EHR-agnostic interoperability and data platform. Partnering with MedAllies reinforces Altera’s commitment to advancing nationwide interoperability under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA).
Advancements in Health IT: ASTP/ONC’s Approved SVAP Standards for 2025
As part of ASTP/ONC’s annual Standards Version Advancement Process (SVAP), the Approved Standards for 2025 are now available. SVAP is designed to support industry interoperability needs and enable the use of newer standards in the ONC Health IT Certification Program (Certification Program). Beginning August 29, 2025, Health IT developers participating in the Certification Program can voluntarily incorporate the 2025 SVAP standards into their Certified Health IT Modules.
Gravity Project Announces New Steering Committee Co-Chairs and Members
The Gravity Project, a national HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) Accelerator focused on advancing interoperability for social determinants of health (SDOH) data, is pleased to announce the appointment of its’ Steering Committee co-chairs for the 2025–2026 term as well as two new Steering Committee members.
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.
Talking the Walk
On this episode, host Tom Testa sits down with Jolie Ritzo, interim CEO of Civitas Networks for Health. Jolie shares her journey in public health, her commitment to underserved communities, and how Civitas is driving health equity. She also offers a preview of the upcoming Civitas Annual Conference and what attendees can expect.
Announcing 2025 Annual Conference Premier Partnership with 211 San Diego which encompasses Community Information Exchange (CIE) San Diego, and San Diego Health Connect (HIE) will serve as the premier conference partner for the Annual Conference alongside other California Civitas members. The theme, “Bridging Data and Doing,” from September 28-30, 2025, in Anaheim, CA. Sponsorship opportunities are now available.
State HIE News
Grant Aims to Remove Healthcare Barriers for Michigan Veterans
Despite the existence of the Department of Veterans Affairs system, almost half of all U.S. veterans still face significant challenges accessing adequate healthcare. This is a frustrating, yet solvable problem according to experts at MiHIN, Michigan’s state-designated health information exchange that facilitates the sharing of patient health information to improve care quality, efficiency, and patient safety. The organization was recently awarded the Michigan Veteran Service Organizations Networking Grant from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) to assist in employing a “no wrong door” approach to ensure veterans in Michigan can easily access the benefits and services they deserve.
Health-Related Social Services Organizations Joining Manifest MedEx Network
Health-related social services (HRSS) organizations can now connect and exchange health and HRSS information through California nonprofit health data network Manifest MedEx (MX) to help those experiencing health-related social needs and support California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM).
Hires and Openings
eHealth Exchange
Active in all 50 states, the eHealth Exchange is the largest query-based, health information network in the country. It is the principal network that connects federal agencies and non-federal organizations, allowing them to work together to improve patient care and public health. They have an open positions for:
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.
CIVHC
CIVHC (Center for Improving Value in Health Care), a member of Civitas Networks for Health, is hiring a Regulatory Compliance Manager to lead enterprise-wide compliance efforts and support the ethical, secure use of health care data. This Denver-based role offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of legal, policy, and health data innovation, ensuring alignment with HIPAA, HITECH, TEFCA, ERISA, and other state and federal frameworks.
Application Review Begins Immediately – Target Start Date: July 31, 2025
North Carolina Department of Information Technology
The NC Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA) is seeking its next mission-driven, highly motivated and detail-oriented data quality team lead. The Data Quality and Integrity Team Lead (DQIL) will be the in-house data expert, comfortable working with data and business processes to enable new and innovative use cases for NC HealthConnex, the state-designated health information exchange, as well as enhance the overall experience for NC HIEA participants across external NC HealthConnex services.
VITL
VITL is passionate about improving health care for Vermonters. They are a mission-driven nonprofit that connects health care data across the state. VITL is where the health care and technology sectors meet. Their network facilitates the secure exchange of real-time information and makes it possible for providers to get the information they need to provide excellent health care for Vermonters. They have the following openings:
- HL7 Interoperability Engineer
- Product & Engagement Manager
Delaware Health Information Network
Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) is currently seeking a Project Manager Analyst. Specifically, the Project Manager plays a critical role by serving as the lead for project work for all assigned project initiatives and will integrate with all DHIN teams, DHIN stakeholders and technology vendors. Projects are typically IT integration but are shifting towards projects requiring software development and customization. The PM has no positional authority and must be able to create and sustain cooperative voluntary relationships between the project participants.
Upcoming Events
CMS & HL7® FHIR® Connectathon
When: July 15-17, 2025
Where: Virtually
Event Page
Register for this event.
The 6th annual CMS & Health Level Seven International (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) Connectathon is a collaborative experience that will bring together health care stakeholders for three days of learning, testing, and innovation. Join developers, programmers, technology experts and analysts to learn about and test emerging FHIR Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and supporting FHIR Implementation Guides (IGs).
2025 DirectTrust Annual Conference
When: August 4-7, 2025
Where: St. Louis Hilton at the Ballpark, St. Louis MO
Event Page
Register for this event. Early Bird Registration is open through May 16.
The Intersection of Interoperability, Identity, and Cybersecurity – Last year’s conference brought healthcare stakeholders together from across the country to discuss “The Future of Trust in Health.” Throughout the event, three themes consistently came up: interoperability, identity, and cybersecurity.
Each of these areas is incredibly important to the health technology ecosystem, with a great deal of complexity, science, and art within each. However, these topics also have a common intersection, one that DirectTrust cares very deeply about: trust. DirectTrust truly lives and thrives at the intersection of these three areas. That is why this year’s annual conference theme is “The Intersection of Interoperability, Identity, and Cybersecurity,” providing opportunity to explore these topics individually as well as how they interrelate.
Civitas 2025 Annual Conference
When: September 28-30, 2025
Where: Anaheim, CA
Event Page
Register for this event
Event hashtag: #Civitas2025
Bridging Data and Doing – Civitas’ Annual Conference brings together hundreds of passionate industry leaders, decision-makers, implementers, and innovators to discuss interoperability, data-driven quality improvement, social determinants of health, public health, multi-stakeholder and community-led governance, and health outcomes. Civitas’ members serve as the bridge between “data” and “doing” in health and health care. Attendees choose the conference to foster deep connections, strengthen and build new partnerships, and leave with tangible ways to evolve their national, state, regional, and local initiatives.
eHealth Exchange 2025 Annual Meeting
When: November 18, 2025
Where: Nashville, TN
Event Page
Save the Date
Event hashtag: #eHx25
It is that time of the year again to mark your calendars for the eHealth Exchange Annual Meeting on November 18, 2025. This year they are traveling back to beautiful Nashville, TN.
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 Addresses Health Data Information Sharing with Educational Toolkit – The Sequoia Project released an informational and educational toolkit to support providers, health IT developers, health information networks and exchanges, and the greater healthcare community’s commitment to compliance with the federal Information Blocking Rule (IBR).
The Sequoia Project Releases Data Usability Guide Version 2.0 – The Sequoia Project announced the release of the Data Usability Implementation Guide Version 2.0 created by its Interoperability Matters Data Usability Workgroup (DUWG). This resource covers the identified priority use cases that can be readily adopted within health information exchange vendors, implementers, networks, governance frameworks, and testing programs within 18 months.
The Sequoia Project Publishes State of Consent Capabilities – The Sequoia Project published Moving Toward Computable Consent: A Landscape Review for public feedback. This whitepaper explains the importance of managing privacy and consent when sharing personal health information, scans the current landscape of challenges facing those entrusted with personal health information, enumerates existing solutions, and explores the strengths and deficiencies of these approaches.
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.