Nearly 500 million health records have been exchanged through the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement.
The milestone marks an increase from roughly 10 million records exchanged in January 2025, according to a Feb. 11 news release from HHS. TEFCA, which was developed during President Donald Trump’s first term and went live more than two years ago, is intended to serve as a single, trusted national interoperability framework.
The announcement came as HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT opened its 2026 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and National Coordinator for Health IT Thomas Keane, MD, said the agency is focused on expanding “health data liquidity” and improving patient access to electronic health information.
HHS also said it has initiated its first oversight actions related to information blocking under 45 CFR Section 170.580, which governs ONC review of certified health IT. The agency is issuing “notices of potential non-conformity” to certain developers of certified health IT and requesting explanations related to potential nonconformance with Certification Program requirements, including the Information Blocking Condition of Certification and API Maintenance of Certification requirements.
In addition, HHS highlighted regulatory actions aimed at lowering costs and reducing administrative burden for providers. Through the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Electronic Prescribing, Real-Time Prescription Benefit and Electronic Prior Authorization final rule, HHS adopted regulatory standards and certification criteria for health IT that support electronic prior authorizations for both medical and pharmacy benefits.
HHS projects more than $19.2 billion in administrative cost savings over the next decade from those changes. The agency also finalized a requirement for certified health IT developers with products certified to 45 CFR 170.315(b)(4) to include real-time prescription benefit capabilities, allowing providers to see the cost and coverage of a prescription within their workflow.
The agency is also seeking public input on artificial intelligence as part of a departmentwide push to accelerate AI adoption in clinical care. HHS issued an Artificial Intelligence Request for Information and a separate Diagnostic Imaging Request for Information focused on interoperability.
In the news release, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the department is “deploying transformative technology that reduces burden, lowers costs, and puts patients and providers first.” Dr. Keane said improved interoperability will be critical as AI becomes more widely applied in healthcare.
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