eHealth Exchange HIE Launches Program to Boost HL7 FHIR Adoption

eHealth Exchange, a health information exchange (HIE) connecting federal agencies and healthcare providers, has announced an incentive plan to accelerate HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) adoption across healthcare payers and providers.

The network will waive its one-year annual fee for the first 15 non-federal healthcare providers or health information exchanges (HIEs) who successfully exchange electronic patient data with healthcare payers based on standards outlined in the HL7 Da Vinci Project implementation guides.

The HL7 Da Vinci Project is a private sector initiative made up of industry leaders and health IT experts collaborating to accelerate the adoption of the HL7 FHIR standard to integrate value-based care data exchange across communities.

Additionally, eHealth Exchange will waive annual fees for the first three healthcare payers who exchange patient data with non-federal healthcare providers or HIEs within eHealth Exchange using the Da Vinci specifications according to defined dates.

The incentive program will include additional implementation support as the healthcare industry moves to adopt these new data standards.

eHealth Exchange, a qualified health information network SM (QHIN SM) candidate under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement SM (TEFCA SM), is introducing the funding to accelerate the transition from HIE using fax, web portals, and proprietary interfaces.

In 2022, eHealth Exchange successfully deployed FHIR R4 nationwide for HIE of clinical patient data involving validation of adverse events between healthcare providers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The large-scale Networked FHIR implementation validated that FHIR R4 can help not only healthcare providers but also public health agencies.

“The market needs a single workflow for payers and public health agencies to interact with providers and HIEs,” Jay Nakashima, eHealth Exchange’s executive director, said in a press release.

“A move to adopt HL7 Da Vinci guides and FHIR as a primary standard for exchange aligns extremely well with eHealth Exchange’s mission and our history of adopting standards-based methods to scale connectivity and interoperability in healthcare nationwide,” Nakashima added.

ONC recently released a FHIR Roadmap to incorporate into TEFCA. While participation in TEFCA by public health agencies, payers, and healthcare organizations is currently optional, eHealth Exchange is accelerating the use of HL7 FHIR so participants can begin reaping the benefits of this HIE.

“If we don’t come together, we will end up with a variety of disconnected solutions and workflows for payers and public health agencies. And that’s not tenable,” said Nakashima. “We have an eye on the TEFCA FHIR Roadmap and believe there is a lot we can do in advance of that timeline. We want to take an open and collaborative approach to solving payer and health exchange challenges.”

eHealth Exchange facilitates roughly 20 billion data exchanges annually, providing connectivity for 60 regional and state HIEs, 75 percent of US hospitals, 85 percent of dialysis centers, and 70,000 medical groups, as well as countless urgent care centers, surgery centers, and clinical laboratories.