Island Health is proud to be an early adopter of TEFCA—the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, a nationwide effort that allows safe and secure sharing of patient health information across different healthcare organizations.

Here’s what TEFCA means for you:

• Your medical history travels with you—from your primary care doctor to specialists, or even emergency rooms in other states.
• Less repetition of paperwork and tests.
• Faster, more coordinated care between providers outside of our health system.
• Safe and secure sharing between health systems.

TEFCA makes healthcare more connected, secure and convenient—especially if you see multiple providers or get care in different states. TEFCA enables Island Health to electronically send and receive patient records from outside organizations, even if they use a different Electronic Health Record (EHR) such as Epic or Cerner.

“TEFCA is a major step forward because it allows our care team to see information from patient visits at other health systems at the click of a button, which is especially helpful for patients who have more complex health conditions or who travel frequently,” explained Chief Medical Officer Jason Hogge, MD.

This data exchange works both ways. On a local level, if your primary care doctor is at Family Care Network, and you see a specialist at Island Health, your report from that visit will be sent electronically to your primary care doctor for review.

In future phases, TEFCA will enable providers to see advanced patient summary views that consolidate health data from external organizations and present it in a structured, provider-friendly format, making critical information easier to find and use at point of care.

As a rural healthcare system, Island Health is focused on delivering key services that are most needed in our community and building upon existing partnerships to support higher levels of specialty care when needed. TEFCA is one important solution in sharing patient data to build a more seamless transition of care for patients in our community.