The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right QHIN: 5 Questions Every Healthcare Leader Should Ask Themselves

We’ve made significant progress toward seamless healthcare interoperability over the past decade, but healthcare organizations still struggle with many of the same hurdles. QHINs^TM promise a way over these hurdles. Here’s how to choose the right one.

Achieving interoperability in healthcare has been no small feat.

Fragmented data, inconsistent standards, and an overwhelming number of systems and vendors are just a few of the hurdles, along with disparate systems, data silos and a constant cycle of short-term fixes. And these can cause issues that range from operational headaches to impacts on patient care quality.

But we’re making—have made—real progress.

Shifting the Paradigm: The Promise of QHINs in Healthcare

A survey as reported in Healthcare IT News highlighted the growing number of systems and vendors, emphasizing how this fragmentation not only hampers operational efficiency but also affects the quality of care patients receive. To overcome this challenge, the industry must make a systemic shift and embrace new models—models that break down silos, streamline data flow, and enable secure, standardized, seamless exchanges.

It’s time to shift the paradigm, and with the introduction of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement^TM (TEFCA^TM) in December 2023, we now can change the way healthcare data is exchanged nationwide. The TEFCA-enabled shift from isolated systems to a more cohesive, standardized model is a critical step toward realizing the promise of nationwide healthcare interoperability.

Under this groundbreaking initiative from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), TEFCA will rely on Qualified Health Information Networks^TM (QHINs) to drive transformational change as trusted intermediaries that facilitate the secure and standardized exchange of healthcare information across disparate systems.

Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of QHINs

With QHINs, healthcare organizations can eliminate the inefficiencies of point-to-point data exchanges, moving toward a more cohesive, nationwide approach to interoperability.

QHINs provide a framework for scalable, interoperable systems that can adapt to future advancements in healthcare. By offering real-time data exchange, improving care coordination, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations like HIPAA, QHINs position healthcare organizations for success in a rapidly evolving digital health ecosystem.

Our QHIN Evaluation Guide: Key Questions for Selecting the Right QHIN

Selecting the right QHIN is not just a tactical decision—it’s a strategic imperative for healthcare organizations. Check out our QHIN Evaluation Guide, which highlights essential questions healthcare leaders should ask when evaluating QHINs, including:

1. Does this organization have experience delivering true interoperability—or only basic connectivity?

   Any QHIN will provide a base level of connectivity, but true interoperability requires more extensive capabilities. Look for a partner with strong expertise in building and scaling real-world interoperability: the ability for information to flow efficiently across systems so that your team can easily access the insights they need, when they need them.

2. Does this organization have a history of high standards for data quality and security?

   You can’t spell TEFCA without trust. Each QHIN and its participants are expected to adhere to security standards to ensure that health information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. But beyond basic security requirements, healthcare professionals need to be able to trust that the data they receive is complete and accurate.

3. How much support and ease of connectivity will this QHIN offer?

   Some organizations may require additional backend development in order to connect to their QHIN. Some may require ongoing technical work to handle processes like patient matching. Look for a partner who makes it simple to get connected and minimizes the amount of technical work you need to do to achieve fully functional interoperability.

4. Does this QHIN thoroughly understand how participating in TEFCA can help my organization?

   Not all QHINs have experience serving the many different kinds of organizations that can benefit from TEFCA. Look for partners that understand not just the technical requirements to get connected, but also your unique opportunities to improve care delivery and solve business challenges.

5. Is this organization innovating beyond QHIN connectivity?

   The future will likely bring opportunities to expand TEFCA to additional use cases—and most healthcare organizations have interoperability needs that stretch beyond TEFCA already. Look for a partner that is prepared to support you today and tomorrow by innovating around interoperability more generally.

Check out the full evaluation guide for a framework when choosing the right QHIN and insight into how different healthcare organizations can leverage QHINs to address their unique interoperability needs. Find additional resources as you explore future QHIN participation here, including a QHIN Readiness Guide and QHIN Use Case Guide. As a QHIN candidate under TEFCA, our subsidiary Surescripts Health Information Network LLC^TM is uniquely positioned to help healthcare organizations connect to this national network and unlock the benefits of secure, scalable interoperability with its Interconnect solution.

If Surescripts Health Information Network is designated as a QHIN, we expect Interconnect will become available in early 2025.

The Time to Act is Now

Interoperability is no longer a future ambition—it’s a necessity now. Healthcare organizations must prioritize solutions that enable seamless data exchange and improve patient care. For those looking to be part of this transformation, Surescripts offers a robust path to participation in the TEFCA network.

Whether your organization is already exchanging healthcare data or is just starting to explore QHIN participation, the time to act is now.

Download the evaluation guide

Choosing the right QHIN™ for your needs