The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has unveiled the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, an interoperability project mandated as part of the 21st Century Cures Act.

A document ONC and interoperability not-for-profit organization Sequoia Project published Tuesday outlines the legal and technical principles for a network enabling state, regional and national health information networks to share data.

Health information networks will be able to apply to become participating organizations that facilitate data exchange throughout the TEFCA network later this year, possibly as soon as this quarter, ONC previously indicated.

TEFCA is “critical to realizing the 21st Century Cures Act’s goal of a secure, nationwide health information exchange infrastructure,” ONC chief Micky Tripathi said in a news release. “Simplified nationwide connectivity for providers, health plans, individuals and public health is finally within reach.”

TEFCA, a voluntary program, establishes federally recognized data-sharing standards for