INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
2030 VISION
Looking toward the future of interoperability Interoperability in healthcare has rapidly revolutionised over the last two decades, corresponding to the increased expectation that the industry should have the capability to ‘do better’ with data and leverage it to advance patient care. With the heightened demand for smart applications in healthcare, there is a need to take a deep dive into the next phase of interoperability and the wide-ranging possibilities that can be realised from unencumbered data exchange. Leigh Burchell, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, Allscripts
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hat will the average hospital or healthcare practice look like ten years from now? How does one envision the future healthcare model, and how does it fit into the interconnected global economy? What will it take to get there, and will the industry achieve it? These enduring thoughts are pondered by decision-makers in the healthcare world, where organisations and providers strive every day to work towards a solution to these nuanced and complex questions. Globally, countries are exploring how the effective integration and use of health IT will further transform the future of care, especially in an environment made up of complex healthcare systems and differing delivery models spread across diverse demographics. Accordingly, there is a heightened demand for smart applications in healthcare as a part of larger detailed plans and carefullycalculated longer-term strategies, with each building on overarching
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interoperability efforts. Collaboration between industry stakeholders is also well underway as experts forecast what advanced interoperability will facilitate before the next decade begins. As the healthcare industry as a whole shifts from digitising within the four walls of individual care environments to coordination with other organisations also seeing those patients, there is a need to take a deep dive into what the next phase of interoperability will look like by 2030, as well as the wide- ranging possibilities that can be realised from unencumbered data exchange. Healthcare with IT interoperability: Seamless, efficient, and effortless data access and exchange
Interoperability in the healthcare industry has been rapidly revolutionised over the last two decades, corresponding to the increased expectation that the industry should have the capability to ‘do better’ with data and leverage it to advance patient care. There is a spotlight
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on the effective use of healthcare information that is housed across disparate EHRs and enabling crossexchange and cooperation with each other. Looking ahead, it is clear that more standardisation and alignment in the industry around data transmission and consumption is expected, continuing the growth of interoperability adoption in the years leading up to 2030. Different EHR systems have typically offered varying enhanced interoperability capabilities, which has resulted in isolated islands of patient data, housed and confined within the four walls of different healthcare organisations. Conversely, advanced interoperability functionality can smoothly enable connections between health information networks, ensuring care providers are able to access a patient’s data from wherever he or she receives care, with no compatibility barriers. Further, as patient data flows more freely between different EHR systems, subsequent transparency
