Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA)

The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) is a key milestone towards creating a more connected, interoperable healthcare system across the United States. Developed under the 21st Century Cures Act and supported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), TEFCA is designed to establish a standardized, nationwide approach to health information exchange. Its purpose is to enable secure, seamless data interoperability across healthcare systems, payers, and public health entities. By establishing a “network of networks,” TEFCA provides a common foundation for trusted data exchange, ensuring that patient information can move freely, securely, and efficiently between disparate systems, regardless of technology vendor or location.

Central to the TEFCA initiative is the commitment to both data interoperability and data transparency. These twin objectives empower healthcare organizations to not only share clinical data but also to understand how and where that data is used. Data interoperability enables providers, hospitals, and health systems to make real-time decisions based on complete and accurate patient records, improving both care coordination and patient outcomes. Data transparency, meanwhile, ensures that the movement and use of information remain visible and accountable — an increasingly vital concern as healthcare data grows in volume, complexity, and value. The convergence of these principles reflects a broader cultural shift within healthcare: from isolated data silos to an open, collaborative data ecosystem where information becomes a strategic asset.

The discussion around using data to optimize both security and operations is deeply resonant across the healthcare and technology industries. As organizations realize the potential of data-driven insights, new questions naturally arise: who owns the data, where it resides, how it is accessed, and for what purposes. Forward-thinking healthcare systems are already pioneering this next phase of transparency — extracting and integrating data from systems like Epic into analytical intelligence platforms (AIP) to improve clinical efficiency, security oversight, and operational decision-making. Initiatives like TEFCA accelerate this shift by defining the guardrails and trust models necessary for secure, interoperable exchange at scale.

The emergence of TEFCA and similar interoperability frameworks underscores the importance of building a cohesive, transparent data strategy. By collecting access logs across solutions within a centralized, segmented data layer, Imprivata is uniquely positioned to support frictionless yet secure access to critical systems. This architecture not only enhances visibility and accountability but also aligns with TEFCA’s broader mission of trust and data transparency. As the healthcare ecosystem continues to expand its data mesh — connecting clinicians, administrators, and patients through shared and trusted data flows — Imprivata identity and access management solutions provide an essential framework for ensuring information exchange remains both seamless and secure in an increasingly complex digital environment.