Markle Common Framework

The Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework for Private and Secure Health Information Exchange (Markle Common Framework) provides the initial elements of a comprehensive approach for secure, authorized, and private health information sharing so that patients and their authorized providers can have access to vital clinical data when and where needed. The Markle Common Framework includes 16 policy and technical documents, rooted in the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs), as well as model contract language for information sharing. When taken together these technology and policy practices demonstrate how various health information networks can share information while protecting privacy and allowing for local autonomy and innovation. The Markle Common Framework was developed through a consensus-driven process by Markle Connecting for Health, a public-private collaborative of more than 100 organizations including experts in health care delivery, technology, privacy, and the consumer experience which operated from 2001 until 2012.

In 2012, an additional set of resources, the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework Policies in Practice for Health Information Sharing (Policies in Practice), was developed as an addendum to the original Markle Common Framework to address a range of critical health information sharing implementation needs identified by experts working in the field. The Policies in Practice aim to make the Markle Common Framework more relevant to emerging needs and more specific in some areas where additional guidance had been requested.