Currently, one of the most important goals in the health IT industry is making data truly interoperable.
In pursuit of that goal, healthcare organizations are seeking ways to match patient data and locate records in a fragmented digital environment where technology and processes simply aren’t set up to allow efficient data exchange and access. On top of that, regulatory requirements are putting additional pressure on healthcare organizations to meet benchmarks and reporting mandates.
MEDITECH and other health IT vendors are working toward solutions through efforts like APIs. Developers can design apps for use on various devices, bringing to life the rich data within an EHR for the benefit of providers, patients and consumers.
Standards-based interoperability can also connect patients and providers within an organization and to outside resources like HIEs and federal and local public health agencies. From a wider perspective, The CommonWell Health Alliance and Carequality enable nationwide exchange of health data.
Tools like APIs, C-CDAs, FHIR, HL7, and direct messaging support industry standards and comply with requirements defined by ONC and CMS, including the latest Electronic Health Record certification criteria.
While there is still work to do, the healthcare industry has already taken great strides toward true interoperability.
These five blogs show how MEDITECH and healthcare organizations are already achieving success with interoperability — and provide some insights on what the future holds.
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Why FHIR, APIs, and apps are the future of interoperability
How can vendors make sure their EHR systems ‘talk’ to each other and provide a better experience for patients? Niraj Chaudhry, Director of Development Advanced Technology Division at MEDITECH, explains how industry-wide standards and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) remove the friction from patient access to their data.
- Why 3 separate hospitals started an HIE together
Three hospitals in California set up their own Health Information Exchange (HIE) called Central Coast Health Connect, covering over 40 clinics, urgent care, primary care, and specialty care locations. Learn why these hospitals created one HIE to consolidate patient records, provide secure real-time information sharing, and enable patients to manage their own care via a consolidated patient portal.
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A new way to drive interoperability and improve patient experience
Interoperability is a work in progress, but there are tools already available in the industry to help patients and physicians. Check out some of the ways that these tools are enhancing productivity for providers and improving the patient experience.
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Winning Partnerships: How to make rural IT hosting relationships work
Interoperability isn’t just a priority for large organizations — it’s just as important for Critical Access Hospitals to communicate with suburban and urban medical centers. Read how Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, CO, extended their EHR to one partner while joining four other Critical Access Hospitals to align clinical goals across the alliance while achieving their goal of “keeping care local.”
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What the proposed 2019 MACRA changes mean for you
Among the most important changes being proposed by CMS for 2019 is the requirement that all eligible providers bring their EHR up to 2015 Edition Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) standards — and that includes a number of interoperability-related standards. Read more about the proposed changes to MACRA for 2019, and how you can have your say.
Download our white paper to learn more about the CommonWell Health Alliance, the Argonaut Project, APIs and Apps, public health reporting, and MEDITECH's commitment to interoperability.
