Netsmart Announces Intent to Become a Qualified Health Information Network

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Sept. 22, 2022 - PRLog -- Netsmart, the developer of the industry-leading CareFabric® platform for human services, post-acute care providers and payers, today announced its intent to apply to join the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to become a Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN). By supporting TEFCA, Netsmart continues its decade-long advancement of interoperability strategies to facilitate an open exchange of longitudinal healthcare data that will benefit individuals receiving care across the healthcare ecosystem.

Once accepted as a QHIN, Netsmart will be part of a first-of-a-kind national data sharing network that will determine new standards for both private and public sectors. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is leading the charge and will oversee the QHIN process through the designation of The Sequoia Project as the recognized coordinating entity (RCE). Netsmart has been collaborating with the ONC and The Sequoia Project to help develop and provide feedback on the principles and procedures put forth by TEFCA.

Netsmart is a longtime leader and advocate for open networks and interoperability standards to prioritize the needs of providers, clinicians, patients, and their families. This open network approach is in contrast to technology vendors who in some cases have sought to carve out proprietary networks that stifle the future of care coordination. The open and secure sharing of data is required to achieve effective care coordination that Netsmart supports as a founding member of the Carequality interoperability framework.

The Netsmart network, CareConnect™ (https://www.ntst.com/Offerings/CareConnect), was built to offer clients seamless integration of health data and one point of access to the larger health data ecosystem. With the CareConnect solution, Netsmart was one of the first healthcare IT vendors to utilize the new 360X closed-loop referral standards in a production environment to bring to life true interoperability (https://www.ntst.com/CareFabric/CareGuidance-Solutions/In...) to minimize manual data entry which streamlines transitions of care and care coordination and reduces medication errors. By empowering providers to digitize their enterprise, Netsmart clients are projected to perform more than 3 billion secure health data exchanges facilitated through CareConnect in 2022.

"It has always been our objective as a healthcare technology partner to offer comprehensive solutions and services that allow providers to remain competitive in a landscape that requires coordinated care and value-based practices for success," said Netsmart CEO Mike Valentine. "Becoming a Qualified Health Information Network aligns with our established history of being at the forefront of driving interoperability. As we take the next step in the evolution of data exchange, we look forward to collaborating with other healthcare IT vendors applying to participate as a QHIN to expand access to open networks for consumers nationwide."