ONC selects Sequoia Project to help coordinate TEFCA

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology yesterday selected the Sequoia Project to serve as the recognized coordinating entity who will be responsible for developing, updating, implementing and maintaining the Common Agreement component of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. The Common Agreement will create the baseline technical and legal requirements for health information networks to share electronic health information and is part of ONC’s implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act. “We look forward to working in close collaboration with The Sequoia Project and across the broader health system to create a Common Agreement that best serves the needs of all stakeholders,” said Don Rucker, M.D., National Coordinator for Health IT. ONC in January 2018 issued its first draft of TEFCA. ONC updated the draft this June, and AHA provided feedback on the updated draft.