It’s been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We’re full speed ahead on several fronts, all of which tie into our upcoming pilot. I closed my previous post with a mention of the pilot, and I think it’s worth exploring in more detail.
The pilot will vet two different aspects of Carequality’s work – the legal framework for exchange through Carequality, and our initial use case implementation guide. The first phase of the pilot will focus on the legal framework, because it’s so essential as the foundation for all of our other activities.
Connecting data sharing networks is critical to our approach, and we need rules of the road that can be accepted and incorporated into the governance structure of a variety of different networks. We believe we have a great starting point, and anticipate improving on it with feedback from a broad audience over the next few weeks. In the end, though, academic debate can only get us so far.
We need data sharing networks and their participants to review the terms with an eye toward signing onto the framework, and implementing it within their existing governance approach. Obviously, a final decision depends on the final form of the legal documents, but the expectation is that pilot participants will enter into the process with the intent to make it work, and to sign on for production implementation. Approaching the legal framework from such a standpoint will result in the best feedback.
We anticipate making a round of updates based on the pilot participants’ feedback, prior to moving forward with standard terms that can be broadly accepted.
With the legal framework established, we can move forward to production exchange across the networks, based on the use case implementation guide. The initial use case, Query for Documents, is one that has widespread adoption in some form across a large number of networks already, and was chosen precisely because it should be an easier lift for participants. Nonetheless, we anticipate that clarification on standards will be needed, and that other unforeseen considerations will come to light. The pilot participants will provide invaluable experience to inform updates to either the technical specifications or business and policy guidelines for the use case, before it is opened up for full public adoption.
A number of organizations, both data sharing networks and their customers, have expressed interest in the pilot. There is definitely still room for a few more participants, however, and I hope that you will consider joining us. Please get in touch with us at admin@carequality.org if you are interested in learning more.