Carequality

Carequality operates as a public-private collaborative that provides an interoperability framework connecting health information networks across the United States. The organization enables healthcare providers to exchange clinical data across different electronic health record systems and networks without requiring individual point-to-point agreements. Currently facilitating over 1.2 billion document exchanges monthly, Carequality connects more than 600,000 care providers, 50,000 clinics, and 4,200+ hospitals.

The Carequality Interoperability Framework allows implementers—including EHR vendors, health information exchanges, and healthcare technology companies—to connect their clients to a nationwide network of data sharing partners. The framework establishes standardized legal, technical, and policy agreements that eliminate the need for organizations to negotiate separate contracts with each potential data exchange partner. This approach accelerates connectivity and reduces implementation costs for participating organizations.

The organization supports multiple data exchange standards including both traditional document-based exchange and FHIR-based queries. Carequality operates through a governance model that includes implementer workgroups and an annual meeting where participants collaborate on framework evolution and technical specifications.

Organizations should choose Carequality when they need to exchange clinical data with a diverse ecosystem of healthcare providers across different EHR systems and networks. The framework's value proposition centers on network scale and simplified connectivity—one connection provides access to hundreds of thousands of providers without negotiating separate agreements.

Expect a standards-based approach that requires technical implementation either directly as an implementer or through partnership with an existing implementer like an EHR vendor, HIE, or health data platform. The framework provides clear governance, established legal terms, and proven operational scale for production health data exchange.

Carequality exclusively serves the U.S. healthcare industry with a specific focus on enabling interoperability for care coordination. The framework addresses HIPAA compliance requirements and supports clinical data exchange across acute care hospitals, ambulatory practices, behavioral health providers, senior care facilities, and health information exchanges. The organization's governance structure specifically addresses healthcare regulatory requirements including permitted uses of data, patient consent, and privacy protections mandated by federal healthcare regulations.

Best suited for healthcare delivery organizations, health information exchanges, EHR vendors, and healthcare technology platforms that need broad access to clinical data across multiple provider networks. Ideal participants have established health IT infrastructure and need to support care coordination workflows requiring data from external sources.