Impact of Interoperability in Healthcare

Posted by Mark Walden on November 22nd, 2019

Imagine that you wake up one morning and your in-house device tells you that the pollen count in the atmosphere has risen and is going to be high for a few hours- The interoperable insight engine is aware that you are a patient of asthma and it is not advisable for you to go out in these conditions. Then you can wait for the pollen count to drop and step out later in the day. This is what the future with interoperability in healthcare holds for us!

The healthcare industry has come a long way in the wake of technological advancements. One of the major impacts in the healthcare sector is made by data. The healthcare industry is flooded by large volumes of data. This data is only growing. Both patients and healthcare providers are looking for ways to effectively leverage data.

We have seen most healthcare providers across the globe shift to electronic medical records instead of the traditional paper files. The next step obviously is sharing of the medical records between different entities in other words interoperability. Interoperability has already made its foray in the healthcare sector and it is progressing fast to empower patients and enhance the quality of treatment.

What is interoperability?

Interoperability, in the context of the healthcare industry, implies the ability of different information systems and software applications to communicate and exchange data and leverage the data exchanged.

Interoperability facilitates data to be shared between healthcare providers, labs, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. This exchange of data makes it possible to provide holistic treatment to the patient.

According to the “Future of Health” report by Delloite, researchers look far into the future, nearly mid-century. Health in the year 2040, according to the report will thrive on the lifeblood of “radically interoperable data,” flowing freely open and secure platforms, helping provide insights for better decision-making on part of consumers and health systems alike-whether enabling better care delivery or offering insights for day-to-day wellness.

Interoperability offers access to data in real-time facilitating analysis of patterns that can impact an individual’s health or wellness. The data also provides insights and is always available to the patient.

Interoperability has become relevant in recent times because it increases patient safety because it allows easy access to patient data. It also enhances the quality and efficiency of treatment because it allows healthcare systems to provide treatment from any point of care within the system due to the availability of real-time data.

Different healthcare systems must be able to exchange information and transfer it across systems through specific interfaces that structure data similarly.

There are three stages of interoperability:

Foundational Interoperability
In this case, one IT system receives data exchange from another and does not require an IT system for interpretation of data.

Structural Interoperability
It defines the structure or format of data exchange. There is a uniform movement of data from one system to another. In the case of structural interoperability data exchanges between the IT systems can be interpreted at the data field level.

Semantic Interoperability
This is the highest level of interoperability. In this case, two or more systems or elements can exchange and use data. Semantic interoperability leverages both data exchange structure and codification of data.

Semantic interoperability supports the electronic exchange of patient summary data among different caregivers and other authorised parties through potentially disconnected electronic records. It helps enhance the quality, safety, efficiency, and efficacy of the healthcare services provided.

Benefits of Interoperability

Connected Care
Connected care is a natural outcome of interoperability. If various healthcare professionals do not have access to the details of the patient, the patient wastes a lot of time filling forms, repeating his history to different doctors, etc. If interoperability is used, the process is streamlined. The healthcare facilities will be able to collaborate and provide better care to patients. This connected care enhances the overall patient experience.

Better Patient Safety
By implementing interoperability data can be captured and interpreted across different systems and applications. This helps eliminate any errors in treatment that may occur due to missing patient data.

Saves Time
Implementation of interoperability leads to reducing the time of treatment. This is because the doctor does not have to question the patient regarding his past history, allergies, etc. He has all the data readily available helping him diagnose faster.

Helps Prevent Outbreaks of Diseases
Interoperability facilitates the sharing and interpretation of data across various entities. The exchange of data enables healthcare organisations to collectively educate each other on predicting and preventing outbreaks. Although interoperability has made huge strides in the healthcare arena, there are certain challenges that it faces.

There is a need to improve the ability to exchange, process, and interpret shared data between many devices, applications, and other systems.

It is also important that healthcare providers receive the data in usable formats so that they can understand it and provide the treatment.

There is also the issue of cybersecurity. When the information is exchanged between several entities there is a risk of hacking. It is important to ensure that the shared data is well protected by using methods of encrypting etc.

The Bottomline
Healthcare systems across the globe have communicated using different languages making interaction a challenge. To offer a means for seamless exchange of information, set standards must be established for different health systems to share.

The healthcare sector has benefited to a large extent from various technological advancements, interoperability is one of them. Interoperability has the potential to transform the healthcare industry if implemented in the right manner. One of the challenges it faces is that of communication. Healthcare systems across the globe have communicated using different languages making interaction a challenge. To offer a means for seamless exchange of information, set standards must be established for different health systems to share.

Various countries across the globe are working on the best ways to implement interoperability in their countries. They stand to benefit from webinars and events hosted across the globe to raise awareness about different technological innovations in the healthcare sector. The Digital Health Summit 2019 is one such event that focuses on interoperability and connected care.