If you’ve heard of “interoperability” and wondered what it means, this primer will give you a better understanding of what it means, its benefits and the challenges associated with implementation.
Healthcare interoperability refers to the ability of different health information systems, devices or applications to connect and exchange data in a seamless manner.
By ensuring critical patient information flows easily to healthcare providers, interoperability enables physicians to provide the best possible care.
By providing easy access to patient data, interoperability solutions boost provider efficiency and lessen the administrative burden, giving physicians more time to focus on patients.
When providers get more timely information, there are fewer care delays. The result is a better overall patient experience at the point of care and the potential for better health outcomes.
Interoperability solutions also play a role in helping to facilitate preventive care. Humana shares information that enables providers to be proactive when delivering care—for example, which patients are due for a colonoscopy or a mammogram, along with other information that keeps providers up to date on their patients’ medical status. This information shows up for providers as a point-of-care alert—one of Humana’s interoperability solutions.
True interoperability is only possible when all stakeholders agree on the standards, technologies and terminology for exchanging data between disparate systems. Challenges can include:
