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Interoperability and related compliance mandates are not new, though the landscape is ever changing. Without these two key components, progress is at stake. No one wants to return to the Wild West of health data and record keeping. Fortunately, the health care industry has been hard at work to put a national standard in place much like other industries, including finance, retail, and travel, to name a few.
Despite the hard work of organizations like the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange, challenges persist with disjointed and disconnected health care data systems. While the widespread adoption of electronic health records was a significant improvement (albeit complicated, and for many ongoing), data silos and the lack of true interoperability remain.
What we do know is that data sharing must be enabled between all solution ecosystems to enhance patient experience and ultimately improve health outcomes. Solutions must be agile, scalable, adaptable, and innovative. Perhaps most importantly, they must be more than a one-time fix. Ongoing legislative priorities and national proposed rules are just too fluid and susceptible to current trends.
We can’t set it and forget it. There’s no box-checking when it comes to ongoing compliance and interoperability. Here’s why:
Michael Pattwell is principal business advisor at Edifecs. Visit the Edifecs Exhibit Booth!