As we roll into the second half of 2025, we wanted to state our TEFCA™ priorities and plans for the remainder of the year.

1) Increase Transparency

Draft TEFCA work products will be available for public comment, giving everyone an equal chance to provide input. Up first is the draft Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™) Technical Framework (QTF) v2.1, which is open for feedback through July 28^th. We will also seek more opportunities for non-TEFCA participants to engage and will look to provide more visibility into TEFCA participation and governance.

2) Drive Participation and Use

While we are committed to scaling treatment exchange and individual access services on TEFCA, we are equally excited about expanding participation and live use of the network for the other TEFCA authorized exchange purposes: payment, healthcare operations, government benefits determination, and public health. Yes! Everything is in place for participants to engage in document-based query and, more recently, FHIR®-based query via TEFCA-trusted FHIR APIs. We intend to establish short-term TEFCA connectivity pilots, starting with payers and providers, that can help interested parties get on the “path to production.” Similarly, we wanted to highlight a new information blocking FAQ released today that addresses developers of certified health IT and QHIN choice.

3) Activate Our Federal Partners

We look forward to supporting our federal partners’ participation in TEFCA and meeting their mission needs (e.g., the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Institutes of Health, and Indian Health Service).

As specified by the 21^st Century Cures Act, TEFCA plays a key role in supporting nationwide interoperability, but we don’t view TEFCA as “the only” solution. There are value-add health information exchange activities happening at all levels that need to continue and expand. TEFCA offers nationwide connectivity when nationwide scale matters. TEFCA provides one set of network participation policies, one set of nationwide connectivity services, and one approach to network oversight. This simplifies participation and reduces costs for nationwide exchange.

We’d like to thank everyone who submitted comments on the joint request for information issued with CMS. We are reviewing them carefully for policy and program implementation purposes, including to inform our work on TEFCA.