Insights From HIMSS: How TEFCA and IAS are Erasing the Digital Divide

The GetPatientRecords team recently attended HIMSS26, connecting with healthcare leaders and exploring the evolving landscape of interoperability.

While 2025 was about the initial go-live of QHINs, 2026 marks the shift from a hospital-centric model to a truly national infrastructure. We are finally reaching historically disconnected segments such as rural clinics and private practices. Yet, the core challenge remains: accessing patient records efficiently and reliably. Even as networks emerge, the complexity of EHR connectivity and manual workflows persists as healthcare's primary bottleneck.

Leveling the Clinical Playing Field

For years, data liquidity has been a game dominated by large academic medical centers and well-funded health systems. At HIMSS26, that narrative finally started to shift. Independent practices and rural clinics, long sidelined by the cost and complexity of integration, are now entering the conversation.

The maturation of Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) now enables a solo practitioner in a rural county to plug into a single network, instantly access longitudinal patient records, and operate with the same level of data visibility as a Tier-1 hospital. This democratization of data allows smaller entities to finally compete in value-based care models, where real-time access to a patient’s history is the difference between a successful intervention and a costly readmission.

The End of the Medical History Scavenger Hunt

We are moving past the era of the "request and wait" patient portal. The formalization of Individual Access Services (IAS) under TEFCA has turned patient data into a real-time, automated transaction.

Patients now have the legal and technical ability to direct their data wherever they choose. The result is a fundamentally new onboarding experience: verify once, and your full medical history flows instantly into a new provider’s system. By removing providers as the sole gatekeepers of data, IAS is unlocking a new model of care that is patient-directed and data-driven. From AI-powered health coaches to automated clinical trial matching, the next wave of innovation will be fueled by continuous, patient-controlled data streams.

From Static Documents to Living Data

The HIMSS floor was filled with talk of AI, but the most sophisticated organizations have realized that an AI agent is only as good as the data it consumes. To move toward a truly agentic future, where AI can proactively assist in clinical decision-making, we need high-velocity, granular data.

The industry is currently transitioning from sending static documents to querying specific data elements via Facilitated FHIR. This shift is essential for the evolution of healthcare automation as AI cannot operate on fragmented, delayed information. It requires continuous, high-quality data to navigate complex care decisions effectively. Interoperability isn't just a compliance box to check; it is the fundamental infrastructure required for AI to deliver actual clinical impact.

How GetPatientRecords Helps

Accessing complete, real-time patient data shouldn’t slow you down. GetPatientRecords connects directly to QHINs, EHRs, and HIEs, delivering a unified, longitudinal patient record in standardized formats. By streamlining access and eliminating friction, GPR helps health teams move faster, make better decisions, and fully capitalize on nationwide interoperability.

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