Sessions Cover TEFCA, QHINs, Nationwide Health IT Interoperability, and Important Initiatives and Federal and State Policies

VIENNA, Va., Nov. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Sequoia Project, a non-profit and trusted advocate for nationwide health IT interoperability, today announced that Dr. Micky Tripathi, the Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), will keynote The Sequoia Project and Carequality co-hosted 2024 Annual Meeting.

Dr. Tripathi will address 2025 Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™) ramp up plans and share ASTP's vision for the future during the event, taking place Dec. 11-12 in Nashville, Tenn. 

The 2024 event will cover a broad set of topics relevant to the healthcare industry, but there are two sessions that will be of particular interest to the healthcare market. One will directly address changes and clarifications needed to the definition of "treatment” for exchange purposes, and the other will discuss how to manage disagreements between parties as exchange expands.

Definition of Treatment Session

Immediately following his keynote, Dr. Tripathi will be a featured panelist on the session "What Is Treatment?” This session will highlight the definition of treatment as a purpose for health information exchange and will explain the Treatment Exchange Purpose in TEFCA, including whether treatment should be redefined when used to compel query responses in frameworks and networks. Joining Dr. Tripathi as fellow panelists are Deven McGraw of Citizen Health, Dr. Peter Schoch of Kno2, and Michael Marchant of Sutter Health.

Managing Disputes Session

The session about "Navigating a Disagreement” will give attendees a look at the tension between the need to share and the need to safeguard patient data that may find healthcare entities in a dispute situation. Moderator Erin Whaley of Troutman Pepper will lead panelists Hans Buitendijk of Oracle Health, Paul Wilder of CommonWell Health Alliance, and Russ Cucina, MD, of UCSF Health System in providing guidance for healthcare community members to re-evaluate their dispute processes.

These sessions will complement other annual meeting speakers, including Daniel Polk, special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), who will discuss cybersecurity and David Horrocks, The Sequoia Project board chair, who will share the nonprofit's latest developments.

To see the full agenda, conference sponsorship opportunities, and conference sponsors, visit https://sequoiaproject.org/2024-annual-meeting-nashville/. Members of The Sequoia Project and Implementers of Carequality receive discounted registration. Standard registration pricing ends Nov. 27.

About The Sequoia Project

The Sequoia Project is a non-profit, 501c3, public-private collaborative chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The Sequoia Project focuses on solving real-world interoperability challenges and brings together public and private stakeholders in forums, such as the Interoperability Matters cooperative, to overcome barriers. The Sequoia Project is the Recognized Coordinating Entity® (RCE®) for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). In this role, The Sequoia Project developed and will implement and maintain TEFCA's Common Agreement component and operationalize the Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN™) designation and monitoring process. For more information about The Sequoia Project and its initiatives, visit www.sequoiaproject.org.