The Sequoia Project Addresses Health Data Information Sharing with Educational Toolkit

Press Releases, The Sequoia Project News

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December 4, 2024

Information Sharing Workgroup Builds on Materials and Good Practices for Health Information Exchange Guidance

(Vienna, Va. – December 4, 2024) –The Sequoia Project , a non-profit and trusted advocate for nationwide health information exchange, released an informational and educational toolkit to support providers, health IT developers, health information networks and exchanges, and the greater healthcare community’s commitment to compliance with the federal Information Blocking Rule (IBR).

In alignment with the non-profit’s public good mission, the toolkit is freely available in the hopes of increasing information sharing for the benefit of all. The toolkit includes:

Sample Information Sharing Compliance Project Tool;
Sample Information Sharing Policy; and
Information Blocking Rule Workflow for the manner, fees, and licensing exceptions.

The toolkit materials were developed by The Sequoia Project’s Information Sharing Workgroup (ISWG), which is supported by The Sequoia Project’s Interoperability Matters initiative. This toolkit builds on the set of good practices and other materials released by the workgroup in 2023.

“The Sequoia Project is grateful for our community of subject matter experts and the members of the ISWG who generously collaborated to develop these tools,” said Mariann Yeager, chief executive officer of The Sequoia Project. “We look forward to continuing to advance interoperability and continue to build a community of practice around this critical topic.”

The Sequoia Project has been leading on education, best practice, and compliance with anti-information blocking policies for five years. Since that time, The Sequoia Project has offered live-streamed Information Blocking Compliance Bootcamp courses, which certified more than 800 health IT and legal professionals across provider, vendor, health information network, and payer communities.

“We expect that providing this helpful guidance free to all will help the healthcare field to more swiftly implement IBR compliance, ultimately supporting patients and others in pursuit of critical health data where and when it’s needed,” said Josh Mast, ISWG co-chair.

“A passion to free the data so vital to making informed medical decisions brought together organizations from across the industry,” said Ammon Fillmore, associate chief legal officer: information and technology, at AdventHealth and ISWG co-chair. “Thank you to ISWG members who donated their time and expertise to improving health information exchange and The Sequoia Project for providing the opportunity and platform to develop this toolkit.”

The Sequoia Project is hosting a free public webinar, sponsored by Oracle Health, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, from 1-2 p.m. Eastern. This webinar will offer a detailed overview of the toolkit and demonstrate how participants can support organizations at all levels navigate and comply with IBR, including the manner, fees, and licensing exceptions.

You can register for the webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3187822201907405403.

You can view the toolkit and learn more about the ISWG at https://sequoiaproject.org/interoperability-matters/information-sharing-workgroup/.

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.