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What You Should Know
- The Milestone: Customers of Epic are officially the first healthcare providers to share medical records with the Social Security Administration (SSA) through TEFCA (Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement), the federally sponsored interoperability network.
- The Pioneer Cohort: The first wave of Epic health systems connecting to the SSA via TEFCA includes AltaMed (CA), Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services (OK), Overlake Hospital Medical Center (WA), Saint Francis Health System (OK), and Valleywise Health (AZ).
Why Epic’s SSA Integration Will Drastically Reduce Disability Approval Times
Epic announced that a cohort of its hospital customers are the first in the nation to begin sharing medical records directly with the SSA through TEFCA (the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement). This secure, federally sponsored interoperability network is allowing the SSA to process disability claims up to 50% faster.
“Interoperability makes it possible for people to receive SSA benefits much faster, allowing them to focus on getting well, managing chronic conditions, and planning for the future,” said Dr. David Kaelber, Chief Health Informatics Officer of the MetroHealth System. “We once had someone’s benefits approved within one business day of submission. It was amazing.”
For years, healthcare data exchange has relied on a patchwork of different networks, like Carequality and the eHealth Exchange. While Epic customers have successfully used these legacy networks to share over 11 million records with the SSA over the past 15 years, the process lacked a singular, universal federal standard.
TEFCA was designed by the ONC (Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT) to be that universal onramp. By successfully connecting the nation’s largest Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendor directly to a massive federal agency via TEFCA, the government has essentially proven that the framework scales.
The first wave of Epic health systems connecting to the SSA via TEFCA includes
- AltaMed (CA)
- Citizen Potawatomi Nation Health Services (OK)
- Overlake Hospital Medical Center (WA)
- Saint Francis Health System (OK)
- Valleywise Health (AZ)
“TEFCA provides a new, streamlined option for data exchange with SSA that will improve outcomes for millions of people by making it easier for more organizations to connect,” noted Rob Klootwyk, Epic’s Director of Interoperability.
