Oracle Health Will Seek to Become QHIN Under TEFCA

Oracle Health has announced its intention to apply to become a Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) as a part of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). 

Oracle Health said that becoming a QHIN will allow it to directly enable its customers to participate in the U.S. government’s nationwide approach to offer secure, smooth, and standardized sharing of health information between providers and payers, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies.

The ASTP/ONC has led a multi-year process alongside Sequoia Project, acting as the Recognized Coordinating Entity, to implement TEFCA, which was envisioned by the 21st Century Cures Act. The idea is to create a “network of networks” for sharing health data across the country. The goal is that like wireless networks, electricity grids and ATMs, the user experience will become as if it's a single network.

There are currently seven designated QHINs, including CommonWell Health Alliance, Kno2. eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, KONZA and MedAllies. Other candidate QHINs include Surescripts Health Information Network LLC, NextGen Healthcare, and the United States Qualified Health Information Network (USQHIN), a subsidiary of Velatura Public Benefit Corp.

TEFCA became operational in December 2023. The Common Agreement, released in September 2021, includes six exchange purposes that organizations must support to be designated as a QHIN. The exchange purposes include Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations, Public Health, Benefits Determination, and Individual Access Services.


Oracle Health said its network, built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), is expected to make sharing data faster and more efficient by reducing the need for extra technology layers that can complicate and slow down the process. 

Oracle Health said its network is being designed to support data types that are not typically available in other exchanges, such as X-rays and MRIs. Accelerating data exchange and securely expanding the variety and volume of data available across the healthcare ecosystem is increasingly important to fuel advanced AI capabilities that can help inform care decisions, optimize treatment paths, and streamline payment processes, the company added. 

Oracle Health said that as it goes through the QHIN application process, it plans to continue to be a member of CommonWell Health Alliance and other related industry organizations.