Connect to External Frameworks
CommonWell connects to two external frameworks – Carequality and the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™). Expanding network connectivity to external frameworks continues to advance the vision of the Alliance to make health data available regardless of where care occurs.
How it Works
Connecting to external frameworks expands the health systems, clinics, and other types of care settings that CommonWell organizations can access and offers even more valuable patient insights to providers.
CommonWell became a Carequality implementer in 2018 and offers this connectivity to our members at no additional cost and with no additional technical overhead. To see which organizations are available through the Carequality connection, check out their Active Sites page.
In 2024, CommonWell became a Designated Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN®) in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Learn more about our TEFCA connectivity here.
“I believe we are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes data integration at the individual patient and population health level. TEFCA represents an opportunity to build the next stage of interoperability that will coordinate care nationwide. We believe we need to run—not walk—to build it.”
Paul Wilder, Executive Director, CommonWell Health Alliance
“CommonWell has been consistently aligned with TEFCA since it was first announced. As a national network it’s been our goal to be an on ramp for connecting care providers. We’ve shown this by becoming a Carequality implementer reaching out to other trade partners outside of our immediate network. When we launched the CommonWell Connector model we really doubled down on this effort to extend access to health IT companies that might not have previously had the ability to connect to the network.”
Liz Buckle, Director of Product, CommonWell Health Alliance
“We’re excited to join a powerful force in the industry and be part of the solution to provide seamless data exchange in healthcare for the benefit of patients and providers across the county,” said Abhinay Penugonda, CEO of ModuleMD. “We did a thorough review of interoperability partners with scale and a robust roadmap for the future including TEFCA and CommonWell was an obvious choice for us.”
The Practitioner’s Perspective
“CommonWell and the integration of Carequality has been very instrumental in providing a wide-ranging picture of patients and their interactions with healthcare. It has allowed me to quickly answer a key question I often ask patients “any recent visits to other facilities?” when rendering care to patients in urgent care. This allows me to create a comprehensive treatment plan.
It is an excellent depiction of the merger between access to information and patient care.” – Africa Dauphiney, Nurse Practitioner, Lafayette General Health
The Member’s Perspective
“Our goal is to provide the most interoperable platform in healthcare and our longstanding partnership with CommonWell Health Alliance is integral to our success,” said Michael Palantoni, Vice President of Platform Services at athenahealth. “We’re excited to extend this relationship and connect to CommonWell’s QHIN so we can provide access to an expanded national network of data, with no additional cost or effort to our customers.”
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have more questions, visit our FAQs.