>> The Future of Interoperability
The main goal of any healthcare system is to provide optimum care to the patients while making the provision of healthcare services easier for professionals. Most of the development towards this goal in the last decade has happened due to interoperability practices becoming the standard of developed healthcare systems.
With the vast progression interoperability has been making in the healthcare industry, it is no surprise that we will be seeing more of it in the future.
Interoperability in the Healthcare System
Interoperability in the healthcare system manifested when HL7 & FHIR was placed as the standard for data exchange amongst proper healthcare facilities, making healthcare more manageable and efficient for professionals. At the same time, enhancing the healthcare experience for the patients themselves.
Interoperability is used to transfer or exchange patient medical and healthcare data between professionals and healthcare providers in the healthcare system. That is mainly done through APIs and apps that can read and interpret data uploaded in various forms while updating existing records to be easier to read.
What Interoperability Brings To the Table?
There are many things that interoperability brings to the table. It’s slowly profoundly changing the healthcare system, helping to digitize the system. Here are a few of how interoperability will make a difference:
1. Implications for Professionals
Professionals find it easier to understand the patient history and medical records when they are easily accessible and readable, making interpretation easier. It also helps them contact other healthcare professionals that the patient has been in contact with and sync the services they provide. Not only does it make operation faster, smoother, and more reliable, but it also helps make the job easier for healthcare providers.
2. Implications For Patients
Patients will receive the maximum benefits from improved healthcare services as they will be able to keep track of their treatment, find and compare healthcare providers and have their medical history on hand at all times. Best in terms of getting a second opinion or emergency cases.
3. Implications For Medical Billing
Although billing or insurance are often overlooked for inclusion in healthcare systems, interoperability brings them into the loop. Insurances can compare prices, determine which hospitals or providers are not sharing patient information or providing proper medical billing, and steer clear of them. It helps them make more informed choices about the treatments they pay for.
Where Can We Go From Here?
Healthcare interoperability has a long way to go before it can become the standard data exchange and interconnective tool it's supposed to be. Before the system moves forward, there are certain issues it would have to address for the future of healthcare interoperability.
Here are some of the most important issues that would need to be addressed:
1. Managing incompatible and inconsistent information
Information shared by multiple healthcare providers can often be overlapping, incompatible, and inconsistent. The inconsistency and incompatibility can sometimes come from shared data in different formats that cannot be compiled together. Interoperability would need a platform that can read all sorts of formats to compile data.
2. Maintaining the privacy of patient information
The request to access information is to be monitored as the right of privacy of the patient’s information is required by law. Hence, the systems would have to monitor and approve requests to view only those who need the information.
3. Fighting against organizational resistance
There are still organizations resisting the change to the system and are not readily complying with data-sharing procedures. Not only this but some organizations, in an attempt to avoid being singled out, will agree to interoperability procedures but will not implement or update them according to requirements.
Ending Note
Keeping all that in mind, it seems rather evident that interoperability will help the healthcare industry realize its goal of creating a secure and accessible ecosystem for patients and clinicians alike.
Additionally, it will allow them direct and easy access to required information through smart apps and external systems. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched claim to consider interoperability the instigator of seamless workflows and effective healthcare solutions.
DevScripts Solutions is an IT Consultant Firm Specializing in Interoperability within the Healthcare Arena.
We are a small team solving big interoperability challenges on a daily basis. With our vast knowledge of interoperability we can integrate ourselves as part of your organization just like we are part of your full-time team. We develop a variety of custom interfaces for healthcare organizations such as Healthcare Vendors, HIEs, Health Systems, Hospitals, Medical Practices, Payors and ACOs using Mirth Connect.
We work with businesses in California, Georgia, New York, Florida, Texas and throughout the wider United States.
For more information on our services or to arrange a consultation call please contact us today.
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