TEFCA Explained: How National Data Exchange Is Finally Becoming Reality
National health data exchange just took a major step forward.
Athenahealth announced it had successfully enabled 100% of its eligible provider network on TEFCA, the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. With this move, athenahealth becomes the first health IT vendor to fully implement TEFCA at scale, offering seamless, secure data exchange across tens of thousands of providers, including Epic-connected systems.
It’s a historic milestone, one that signals the beginning of a new era in health interoperability. But what does TEFCA actually do? And why does it matter?
What Is TEFCA?
TEFCA is a federally backed framework designed to standardize and scale how electronic health information is shared across the U.S. healthcare system. Built on a Common Agreement and technical standards, TEFCA allows healthcare organizations, whether they’re providers, payers, or public health agencies, to exchange health data securely and automatically through Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs).
Until now, health systems often had to stitch together fragmented connections—signing multiple data exchange agreements, managing complex integrations, or relying on faxes and portals to access patient records. TEFCA changes that.
With a single connection to a QHIN, organizations gain access to a nationwide network of records—clinical notes, lab results, imaging, and more—following the patient wherever they go.
Why It Matters Now
With athenahealth’s announcement and more than 1,000 Epic hospitals already live on TEFCA, the system is no longer theoretical. It’s operational, and growing fast.
The federal government is pushing for broader adoption: a White House summit this week will convene tech leaders to sign a new interoperability pledge. The goal is simple: unlock the power of health data to improve care quality, reduce duplication, and give patients access to their full medical histories.
This matters not just for large health systems, but for every organization operating in value-based care. Accurate records enable better risk adjustment, fewer gaps in care, and smarter decisions, faster.
What’s Next?
TEFCA’s initial focus is on core exchange purposes—treatment, payment, healthcare operations, public health, and individual access services. But its potential stretches far beyond that. As more vendors come online and more use cases mature (think: pharmacy access, benefits determination, AI-generated chart summaries), the foundation laid today will support innovation for years to come.
How GetPatientRecords Helps
At GetPatientRecords, we help you tap into this nationwide interoperability network without the technical or staffing burden.
Our platform pulls from 65,000+ data sources (EHRs, HIEs, payers, and QHINs), delivering complete patient records on demand. Whether you need records for risk adjustment, patient intake, or claims support, we make TEFCA real for your business today.
Want to see it in action? Schedule a demo and discover how we’re helping healthcare teams unlock the full power of national interoperability.
