More than 1,000 hospitals and 22,000 clinics using Epic are now live on the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™), marking a significant milestone in making health information seamlessly and securely available wherever care happens.
TEFCA, established under the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, provides a standardized, nationwide framework for the secure exchange of health information. Epic community members connect to TEFCA through Epic Nexus, a federally designated Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN ™) that launched in December 2023.
“Stanford Health Care was one of only a handful of initial Epic Nexus TEFCA participants and I’m thrilled to see so many provider organizations joining this effort,” said Matthew Eisenberg, MD, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer at Stanford Health Care. “TEFCA exchange extends the integrated interoperability our patients and providers have come to expect over the past decade or more. When we have the patient’s full story at the point of care, we can provide better-informed diagnoses, fewer duplicate tests, and better care plans and outcomes in support of the healthcare quadruple aim.”
TEFCA lowers barriers to interoperability that many health systems—particularly those in rural and underserved communities—have historically faced. By standardizing how health data is shared, TEFCA reduces administrative burden and helps ensure that all providers, regardless of size or location, can participate in a nationwide exchange network.
“The energy around TEFCA adoption is clear, and the Epic community is leading the way,” said Rob Klootwyk, Director of Interoperability at Epic. “We’re proud to partner with our customers to expand safe and secure access to health data so patients can take an active role in their care.”
Beyond exchanging data for Treatment purposes, TEFCA and Epic customers are already facilitating connections that support public health and individual access. The Social Security Administration and VA are expected to join the network later this year, expanding the reach of nationwide interoperability.
TEFCA participation builds on Epic’s long-standing leadership and commitment to interoperability. Epic’s Care Everywhere, the first EHR-based interoperability network, went live in 2008. In 2014, Epic co-founded Carequality, a national interoperability framework that now supports millions of clinical document exchanges. For over a decade, 100% of U.S. health systems using Epic have been interoperable—enabling improved care coordination and outcomes for patients nationwide.
