Education

Health data networks

Pick a job you need to do with health data. This page shows the routes that data can take for that job and the networks our sources list in each state. The lists are not complete. Every entry links to its source with the date it was last checked.

I want to…

Ways a clinician can pull a patient's records from other organizations when treating them.

Routes

Your EHR vendor's network or a national framework

Your EHR looks up a patient at other organizations and pulls their documents through a network or framework your vendor has joined.

Who can use it

Clinicians and organizations whose EHR or health IT vendor connects to the network or framework.

Rule

The participation agreement and policies of the network or framework your vendor joined.

Standard

IHE cross-community document query and retrieve (XCA); some networks also accept HL7 FHIR queries.

How to join

Ask your EHR vendor which networks or frameworks it connects to and how your organization turns on access.

National networks for this route

Your state or regional HIE

Your organization joins a health information exchange and queries it for a patient's records held by other members.

Who can use it

Providers and other organizations that sign the HIE's participation agreement.

Rule

The HIE's participation agreement and the health information laws of the state it operates in.

Standard

Query-based exchange, and directed exchange where the HIE offers it. The technical standards differ from one HIE to the next, so check the network's own site.

How to join

Contact the HIE listed for your state on this page, if one is listed; if none is listed, ask your state health department whether an exchange operates in your state.

TEFCA, through a QHIN

Your organization connects to TEFCA through a QHIN, directly or through a participant of one, and queries other TEFCA participants for a patient's records.

Who can use it

Organizations that sign on as a Participant or Subparticipant of a designated QHIN.

Rule

TEFCA Common Agreement, Treatment exchange purpose, with the Treatment exchange purpose implementation SOP.

Standard

IHE document exchange of C-CDA documents, as set by the QHIN Technical Framework. The RCE says a draft version 2 of that framework would add HL7 FHIR alongside the required IHE transactions.

How to join

Choose a designated QHIN, or an HIE or vendor that participates in one, and sign its participation agreement.

National networks for this route

A Direct message

A clinician sends records to a known recipient's Direct address, an encrypted message pushed to one address rather than a search across organizations.

Who can use it

Anyone holding a Direct address issued by a health information service provider (HISP), which is often supplied through the EHR.

Rule

The trust framework and certificate trust bundles of the sender's and receiver's HISPs.

Standard

Direct secure messaging (Applicability Statement for Secure Health Transport, Version 1.2).

How to join

Get a Direct address from a HISP; ask your EHR vendor first, since the Base EHR definition used in ONC certification includes Direct messaging.

National networks for this route

By state

Show on the map

Select a state on the map or in the list to see the networks in our sources for it.

Glossary

HIE
Health information exchange: an organization or network that moves patient health data between providers and other authorized parties.
QHIN
Qualified Health Information Network: an organization designated under TEFCA to connect participants and route queries between networks.
TEFCA
Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement: the federal framework that sets common rules for nationwide health information exchange.
Direct
A secure messaging standard for sending health information from one address to another, similar to encrypted email between providers.
FHIR
Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources: the HL7 standard for exchanging health data over web APIs.
IHE
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise: a body that publishes profiles for how systems exchange data, such as document sharing and patient lookup.
ADT
Admit, discharge and transfer: the messages a hospital sends when a patient arrives, leaves or moves.
NDH
National Directory of Healthcare: the HL7 FHIR implementation guide that describes how providers, organizations and endpoints are listed in a directory. On ainpi.dev, 'the NDH' also refers to CMS's National Provider Directory, which follows this guide.
endpoint
The electronic address, usually a web URL or a Direct address, where an organization receives or serves health data.
HISP
Health Internet Service Provider: a service that issues Direct addresses and carries Direct messages between them.
USCDI
United States Core Data for Interoperability: the standard set of patient data classes and elements that certified health IT must be able to exchange.
RCE
Recognized Coordinating Entity: the organization that ONC chose to run TEFCA day to day, including the rules QHINs follow.
impacted payer
A health plan that the CMS interoperability rules apply to, such as Medicare Advantage plans, state Medicaid and CHIP programs, and Qualified Health Plan issuers on the federally facilitated exchanges.
Participant and Subparticipant
In TEFCA, a Participant is an organization that connects to a QHIN. A Subparticipant connects through a Participant instead of directly.
HIO
Health information organization: another name for a health information exchange, used in some state programs.

Sources and freshness

Oldest last-checked date on this page: 2026-11-06. Entries checked more than 180 days before this page was built are marked "Needs re-check". The full data file is at /api/v1/networks.json.

Educational resource, not legal advice and not an endorsement. AINPI is independent; no network, state agency or CMS reviewed or produced this page. Confirm details with the network before relying on them.