New Participant Agreement: What’s Changing and Why It’s Important

As Contexture finalizes its transition to an upgraded and unified health information exchange (HIE) platform for our Arizona and Colorado markets, we want to prepare every organization utilizing Contexture HIE services for the need to sign a new Contexture participation agreement (PA) by December 31, 2025.

The new platform, powered by Health Catalyst, will create a smooth transfer of data between providers and across state lines, paving the way for greater interoperability and data management. This faster, more reliable data exchange between healthcare providers will also simplify the user experience by improving inpatient and clinical searches, making it easier to support clinical decision-making and quality improvement, access patient information and coordinate care.

To help simplify this process, we have compiled some key components that can help your organization prepare for discussions with your Engagement Manager.

What is different in the new participation agreement (PA)?

One change coming to each PA is our name: Contexture. Your organization may have previously signed an agreement with one of our affiliates — Health Current, Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO) or Quality Health Network (QHN). Health Current and CORHIO affiliated in 2022 and formed Contexture, and QHN affiliated with Contexture in 2024. As we move all participants onto one unified HIE platform, we are also transitioning all contracts to our umbrella entity, Contexture. All agreements moving forward will be between Contexture and your organization.

Another important factor for the new PAs is ensuring that parties stay up to date with evolving health data legal requirements and best practices.

Contexture is committed to protecting the security and privacy of patient information, and the new platform will offer even stronger safeguards against unauthorized access or breaches. This ensures all parties stay in compliance with the laws and best practices that protect the health information of the +30 million patients within our systems. Our new platform maintains compliance with HIPPA and 42 C.F.R. Part 2, and we continue to meet HITRUST standards for data security.

Additionally, as part of the as part of the ONE Platform migration, Contexture’s Data Governance Committee created the HIE Gold Standard for inbound interfaces. This new standard combines industry best practices into a single set of specifications to optimize data quality.

In addition to the PA, each organization must sign one or more statements of work (SOW). Organizations can list any affiliate organizations they wish to be covered in the SOW to reduce the number of contracts that must be signed, and the SOWs for HIE services apply to Colorado and Arizona, so there is no need to sign a separate SOW for each state.

Note: Some organizations will need to sign a Special Terms and Conditions document along with the new PA. Your Engagement Manager will know if your organization falls under this category and will provide you with the necessary information to properly complete any additional documents.

Does the new PA apply to other Contexture programs such as CommunityCares or the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR)?

The information in these FAQs specifically applies to the PA for new HIE Solutions. The CommunityCares and AzHDR programs will require separate agreements. Please reach out to communitycares@contexture.org or azhdr@contexture.org, respectively, for more information on each program.

When does this new agreement need to be signed?

The deadline to sign your new PA is Wednesday, December 31, 2025. The new contracts will be signed on a rolling basis throughout 2024 and 2025 to ensure ample time to meet this deadline. These agreements will have an effective date of Thursday, January 1, 2026, with contracts auto-renewing every year on January 1. Your PA must be signed and returned to Contexture by December 31, 2025, to maintain seamless access to Contexture services.

How will the new PA process work?

Our teams will support you through this process. Over the 2024 and 2025 calendar years, your Engagement Manager will reach out to you directly to share details about our enhanced HIE solutions, walk you through the new PA process and equip your team with all the information needed to make the best, most cost-effective decisions for your organization.

Please contact your Engagement Manager directly regarding any PA and HIE solution questions specific to your organization. Email getconnected@contexture.org if you are unsure who your Engagement Manager is or if you have any general questions related to the Contexture PA process or our HIE solutions.