Readers Write: Collaboration, Trust Remain Essential to Connecting the Last Mile for Healthcare Interoperability

Collaboration, Trust Remain Essential to Connecting the Last Mile for Healthcare Interoperability
By Matt Koehler

Matt Koehler is vice president of product innovation for Surescripts.

Successful collaboration in healthcare, while easier said than done, almost always results in meaningful improvements, such as better quality, safer, and less-costly care for patients. Collaboration is essential to innovation because it reinforces the trust that is needed between stakeholders. It’s especially critical when the safety and lives of patients are at stake. 

Stakeholder collaboration and industry input have been key in the development and implementation of the policy changes that are reflected in Common Agreement Version 2.0 that was released in July 2024 by the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy / Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) and The Sequoia Project or the Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE). 

Beyond the technical aspects of this work, it’s worth emphasizing that ASTP/ONC and the RCE purposefully did not go it alone. They brought together the very healthcare technology stakeholders who would be directly impacted to weigh-in and develop the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or the guidelines their organizations would ultimately be required to follow. They are the same guidelines that future healthcare technology innovations that are aimed at advancing interoperability would be built upon.  

The stakeholder-developed SOPs introduce new exchange purposes (XPs) to reflect the need to be more specific and intentional about why patient information is requested and exchanged. For example, TEFCA Required Treatment was introduced to clarify when Participants and Subparticipants must respond to a request. Additionally, three new Health Care Operations Level 2 XPs were introduced to require future exchange for Care Coordination/Case Management, HEDIS Reporting, and Quality Measure Reporting.

These changes provide a framework to illustrate the scenarios where future use cases will be required: 1) scenarios that fall under existing HIPAA definitions for use of healthcare information; and 2) have well-defined requirements for what data must be exchanged. The new XPs will be required in February 2026, marking an exciting evolution of information exchange. 

This new guidance is widely supported by industry experts who agree that it will deliver on its promise to advance interoperability, better enabling clinicians to provide safer, quality, and less-costly care for patients.

Another recent example of collaboration driving innovation is the Sequoia Project’s new Pharmacy Workgroup. As part of their Interoperability Matters program, this work looks to advance clinical interoperability for pharmacies. Specifically, to address barriers that they experience today related to the exchange of clinical data to provide clinical services by developing practical guidance to prepare and adopt these new standards. 

At a time when the challenges facing healthcare seem insurmountable, every example of cross-industry collaboration that led to a successful outcome, like developing the new SOPs, should be a hopeful reminder that together we can make meaningful progress towards improving care for patients and clinicians.   

We should remain committed to this work because of what it means for patients and the future of healthcare across the country: an exciting new framework for safe and effective interoperability with trust at the center of every new healthcare innovation.