HL7 applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) for its April 22, 2024 Common Agreement Version 2.0 release, which announced the requirement for health information networks participating in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) to support the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard.
The CA v2.0 establishes the technical infrastructure model and governing approach for different health information networks and their users to securely share clinical information with each other – all under commonly agreed-to rules-of-the-road.
"The ONC’s adoption of HL7 FHIR in its CA v2.0 release is a significant endorsement of HL7 standards,” said Charles Jaffe, M.D., Ph.D., HL7 CEO. “It marks a significant milestone in advancing nationwide data-sharing capabilities and solidifies HL7 FHIR as a cornerstone for interoperability.”
The outcome of this pivotal release will make it more seamless and more reliable for participating healthcare organizations to securely exchange information directly with each other. Moreover, it will enhance the ability of patients to access their healthcare information using devices and apps of their choice.
Visit HealthIT.gov to view a list of key concepts that have evolved from Common Agreement v1.1 to v2.0.