C3HIE and Texas Health Services Authority Finalize Statewide Bidirectional Data-Sharing Agreement

This Golden Spike moment establishes a unified interoperability framework that breaks down data silos and expands secure clinical data exchange across Texas

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, November 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In a groundbreaking development for healthcare interoperability in Texas, two of the state's largest Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) – C3HIE and Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) – have signed a historic agreement for bidirectional sharing of encounter event messages for treatment purposes.

This "Golden Spike" moment marks the end of data silos and interoperability walls that have long hindered seamless healthcare delivery across the state.

What This Means for Texas Healthcare
This agreement delivers three transformative benefits to Texas healthcare HIE subscribers, providers and the patients they serve:

• Improved Care Through Broader Visibility:
For the first time, participating organizations will receive vital encounter information from across both networks, giving clinicians and care managers a more complete picture of a patient’s health journey. This enhanced visibility supports better care coordination, reduces unnecessary duplication, and helps providers intervene earlier, ultimately improving outcomes and lowering costs.

• All Texans Matter — Even When They Travel:
This agreement reinforces a core principle shared by both organizations: Texans deserve seamless, informed care no matter where they go. It is the same reason C3HIE participates in national interoperability networks such as the Patient-Centered Data Home, the eHealth Exchange, Carequality, and TEFCA. When patients move across counties, regions, or state lines, their most relevant health information should move with them.

By connecting the C3HIE and THSA networks, providers gain more complete visibility into a patient’s encounters – whether they happen down the street or across the state – ensuring clinicians have the information they need to deliver safe, timely, coordinated care. And when Texans travel outside the region, their information can be available to participating providers elsewhere, further strengthening continuity of care.

• Power of Scale Through Simplicity:
One connection. One pipe. One contract. Subscribers gain comprehensive event notifications from both HIE networks without the burden of managing multiple connections, integrations, or vendor relationships. This unified approach reduces administrative complexity while expanding the reach and value of the data available to support clinical and operational decision-making.

A Historic Parallel
Just as the Golden Spike united the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit in 1869, enabling coast-to-coast commerce and transforming the nation, this agreement unites two major HIE networks to enable seamless data flow across Texas for the benefit of all patients and providers.

"The days of being locked into data only from one HIE are over," said Phil Beckett, CEO, THSA. "Participating with either C3HIE or THSA now makes you part of the largest interoperability network in Texas, with the continuity, visibility, and clinical support needed to care for patients wherever they go.”
An Open Invitation

The door is open for all HIEs to participate and grow this network. Together, the Texas healthcare community can deliver comprehensive patient information through a single, streamlined connection to support care coordination, improve outcomes, and strengthen the data infrastructure upon which advanced analytics and value-based care depend.

This collaborative approach represents a fundamental shift from proprietary data silos to an open, patient-centered ecosystem where interoperability serves the greater good of Texas healthcare.

About the Agreement
The bidirectional data sharing agreement enables real-time exchange of encounter event messages between C3HIE and THSA networks, ensuring that healthcare providers receive timely notifications from either organization to which they belong. This creates a unified interoperability fabric that puts patient care first while preserving room for innovation in HIE services, reporting, and analytics.

About Texas Health Services Authority
The Texas Health Services Authority (the Authority) was formed under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 182 for the purpose of promoting, implementing, and facilitating the secure electronic exchange of health information in the State of Texas. The Authority accomplishes this purpose through its state-level health information exchange (HIE) and privacy and security certification and supporting programs. Learn more at https://thsa.org/.

About C3HIE
C3HIE is a Texas-based, multi-region nonprofit collaborative connecting healthcare providers through secure bi-directional health information exchange with ADTs, lab results, imaging results, notes, and CCDs. It offers tailored solutions such as real-time alerts, predictive analytics, longitudinal patient records, and community resource collaboration. Learn more at www.C3HIE.org.

Matthew Langan
L&R Communications
+1 202-262-3340
email us here

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