Impact of eHealth Exchange on Nationwide Interoperability

The eHealth Exchange, a 501(c)3 non-profit, is among the oldest and largest health information networks in America and is most well-known as the principal way the federal government shares data between agencies and with the private sector. The eHealth Exchange, a network of networks, is the only network connecting healthcare providers to five federal agencies, 64 regional or state HIEs, 75 percent of all U.S. hospitals, and 85 percent of dialysis clinics running on more than 30 electronic health record (EHR) platforms. National interoperability is facilitated by one common trust agreement and a single set of APIs. Five federal agencies (Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service (IHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Social Security Administration) participate in the network to share patient information with private-sector healthcare partners as well as other agencies. The eHealth Exchange supports the secure exchange of the more than 12 billion patient record transactions annually.