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Editor’s note: Mark Ghaly is secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.
California’s legacy is defined in part by its pioneering spirit. Now, the state is once again striving to strengthen its progress as we seek to improve health care in California with the Data Exchange Framework (DxF).
DxF’s vision is simple but powerful: Every Californian, regardless of where they live, should be able to go to their doctor’s office, county social services agency or emergency room and know that their caregivers have access to the information they need to provide safe, effective, whole-person care.
The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and signed into law on January 31, marked the beginning of a statewide, secure exchange of health and human services information. DxF is the first-ever mandate to integrate our state’s health and human services information exchange to better serve all Californians.
This work was conducted rapidly by the Center for Data Analytics and Innovation at the California Health and Human Services Administration with strong engagement and support from our partners, including stakeholders, providers, payers, and advocacy organizations.
DxF is different from typical health information exchanges because it connects California’s health and human services, giving providers a complete picture of an individual’s health and well-being and enabling them to make fully informed decisions, interventions and services.
Achieving this level of exchange while maintaining data privacy and security is no easy feat. Although modern technology enables secure data exchange, some medical information is still stored on paper, in silos, and scattered. This results in fragmented patient care, delayed access to information, lack of coordination between providers, and separation from social services.
To overcome these challenges, DxF is establishing a common set of principles, obligations, and commitments for the secure exchange of data—and also requiring new connections between health and social services. DxF ensures that patient information remains private and secure—it is not a new technology or a centralized data repository. Instead, it is an agreement to follow the “rules of the road” to accelerate and expand the safe, secure, and real-time sharing of information.
This type of information sharing on this scale is transformative and disruptive to the persistent health and social inequities experienced by many in our state. By ensuring that both health and social service providers can and must participate in the exchange, DxF focuses on the critical role that social determinants of health play in an individual’s well-being and seeks to address them by facilitating connections to key resources.
For all Californians, the integrated system also increases provider coordination, and as more providers adopt DxF, patients will have more access to their health data. Modern health information systems encourage greater patient participation in making their own health care decisions, leading to better outcomes.
We believe the impact of the Data Exchange Framework promotes equity, enables a continuum of care for the whole person, empowers providers, and modernizes the patient experience. You and our partners will continue to build on this progress and lead California into an era of modern health care, fueled by our commitment to a Healthy California for All.
Despite all of our accomplishments in implementing DxF over the past two and a half years, there is still much work to be done. While thousands of health and social service providers are set to begin their exchange, some are still adjusting to this new reality, while other smaller providers have until 2026 to join DxF. We are working with these remaining providers to ensure full compliance, successful implementation, and participation as quickly as possible.
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