eHealth Exchange Launches Incentive Program for Exchanging Public Health Data

Health Information Exchanges and State and Local Public Health Agencies Are Eligible for Financial Perks for Modernizing the Exchange of Public Health Information

VIENNA, Va., Feb. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — eHealth Exchange is launching an incentive program to attract more early adopters to exchange public health data via its electronic data-sharing network.

eHealth Exchange will waive annual fees for three years for the first five health information exchanges (HIEs) or state and local public health agencies that agree by April 30 to exchange clinical data for an agreed-upon public health use case via eHealth Exchange and or the new Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC’s) Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement^SM (TEFCA^SM).

Beyond facilitating the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adverse event verification exchange pilot, roughly 80 million electronic case reports submitted today by providers to state, tribal, local, and territorial agencies nationwide go through eHealth Exchange. This incentive program is to enable even more organizations to participate in electronic case reporting and other public health uses cases and increase the volume of insightful data flowing to the public health agencies charged with keeping Americans healthy.

“We have many network members engaged with public health today, but we need early adopters for the TEFCA public health use cases to support the realization of the full potential value of the nascent, federally endorsed framework,” said Jay Nakashima, executive director of eHealth Exchange. “Based on our current members’ extensive experience, we know electronic health data exchange can make a significant impact on electronic case reporting and public health tracking. By providing financial incentives to current and prospective members, we will help speed further adoption of vital public health data interoperability across the entire healthcare community. Tying public health into current nationwide health data exchange efforts will ensure a healthier patient population across the U.S.”

To be eligible for the newly unveiled incentive program, the HIE or state or local public health agency must meet these criteria:

1. Commit by April 30 to exchanging clinical data for an agreed-upon public health use case via eHealth Exchange.
2. Begin testing by June 30.
3. Go-live in production exchanging public health data with other eHealth Exchange participants or TEFCA Qualified Health Information Networks™ (QHINs) by December 30.

With this incentive program, the recently Designated QHIN is pushing for greater public health use cases and participation under TEFCA—particularly among those state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies that may want to become direct participants of eHealth Exchange.

Public health agencies opting not to directly participate in eHealth Exchange or their local HIE can leverage the Association of Public Health Laboratory (APHL) to receive electronic case reports because APHL is an eHealth Exchange participant.

“We look forward to pushing innovation onward as this program will benefit not only the early adopter participants, but will advance public health and better patient outcomes,” Nakashima said.

To learn more about this eHealth Exchange program and to apply for consideration, visit https://bit.ly/eHx_HIE_PublicHealthIncentive.

About the eHealth Exchange
eHealth Exchange, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to public good, is the oldest and largest health information network in the country and is most well known as the principal way the federal government exchanges clinical data among federal agencies and with the private sector. Recognized for certified data quality, trusted governance, transparency, and its commitment to privacy, eHealth Exchange facilitates the secure exchange of patient records for more than 250 million patients and processes roughly 21 billion data exchanges annually. Vendor-agnostic, with a broad public health focus, eHealth Exchange provides connectivity for more than 30 electronic health record systems, 60 regional and state HIEs, 75 percent of U.S. hospitals, 85 percent of dialysis centers, and 70,000 medical groups – as well as countless urgent care centers, surgery centers, and clinical laboratories. Five federal agencies (Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service (IHS), Food and Drug Administration, and Social Security Administration) also participate in the network to share patient information with private-sector partners as well as other federal agencies. Active in all 50 states, eHealth Exchange connects to other national health information networks today via Carequality and now TEFCA as a Designated QHIN. See: https://ehealthexchange.org / @ehealthexchange.