The Connecting for Health Common Framework

The Markle Foundation recently unveiled their Common Framework on the Connecting For Health website. Here’s how they describe the project:

The Common Framework provides an essential set of technical and policy resources for private and secure health information sharing among existing and developing health information networks. All of the Connecting for Health Common Framework resources are available here at no cost.

The Common Framework includes 16 technical and policy components developed by experts in information technology, health privacy law, and policy, and tested since mid-2005 by Connecting for Health prototype teams in Indianapolis, Boston, and Mendocino County, California. The Common Framework provides an initial set of critical technical and policy components that make it possible for various health information networks to share information while protecting privacy and allowing for local autonomy and innovation.

The Common Framework includes technical documents and specifications, testing interfaces, and code, as well as a companion set of privacy and security policies and model contractual language to help organizations interested in information exchange to move quickly towards the necessary legal agreements for private and secure health information sharing.

I’ll take a more detailed look soon and report back what I think. If others have already delved deep into it and can share their thoughts please drop me a comment here or a note via e-mail.