The upcoming of healthcare is unfolding with interoperability besides FHIR at the vanguard. Access to data can empower patients and healthcare teams to make better, more informed, and more effective decisions about clinical care.
Rendering to the Office of the National Coordinator for Information Technologies in Healthcare, 32% of people who went to the doctor in 2018 reported a gap in information sharing. This gap included everything from having to retest. After all, your previous data wasn’t available, providing a medical history because your chart couldn’t be found, having your results present at an appointment, or waiting longer than expected for your Results. This lack of data management results in patient data leakage and compromises the interoperability that the healthcare IT industry has been working toward for more than 20 years. Below we will discuss the transition to interoperability, key takeaways from the ONC Annual Meeting in April 2022, and the importance of archiving data.
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Right dates, right time, right format
Interoperability is about having the right data in the right format at the right time. Interoperability is also a crucial component for systems to communicate. The inability to access patient records isn’t just an inconvenience; In some cases, this can be a matter of life and death, so it is important to manage data and ensure its access and usability between systems. The data must be easily accessible and usable for patients and doctors without great effort. Accessible data is essential to the delivery of quality, effective and efficient healthcare. Patients should be able to transfer their data between healthcare organizations seamlessly. The continuity of care is based on the interoperability of the systems, which makes the entire healthcare process more effective for everyone complicated.
Key takeaways from the 2022 ONC Annual Consultation
The April ONC meeting emphasized interoperability for the future of healthcare. The meeting delved into several relevant discussions related to interoperability, the 21st Century Therapeutic Products Act, and accessing patient records via critical add-on systems. The accelerated incorporation of real-world health evidence into research demonstrates the need and opportunity for ONC guidelines. A summary of the topics discuss at the ONC meeting is tinted below.
Interoperable systems serve as the basis for highways for sharing health information. Many organizations are using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), particularly because of the 21st Century Cures Act. FHIR was develop to address the growing amount of healthcare data and the need to share that information between computer systems quickly. FHIR is the standard that healthcare systems must implement to ensure efficient and holistic patient care. Below the 21st Century Cures Act, any practice that prohibits patients from accessing. Their data or preventing them from having their data transferr to where they want it is a violation. For this reason, interoperability is of the utmost importance to comply with the Therapeutic Products Act and to meet the needs of patients in today’s world.
· Effective healthcare starts with easy access to and transfer of patient data
The 21st Century Cures Act also addresses gen blocking and the impact of data silos on an organization’s support systems. As organizations evolve and implement new classifications. The need to preserve legacy data in a meaningful and accessible manner has become of top importance. Using numerous systems within an organization can make data access difficult if not every system is interoperable. When legacy data is archive and accessible finished standard methods such as HL7 FHIR, an ecosystem emerges. That empowers patients and care team members to make faster and better data-driven clinical decisions. Easy availability of legacy data also ensures compliance with data lockdown regulations.
Interoperability becomes reality
Interoperability has been talked about for decades. Healthcare organizations implement FHIR standards into their existing systems and archive legacy data. These steps will make medical care more effective and efficient while complying with the regulations of the 21st-century spa law.
Data management is critical given the vast amount of patient data available. Access to data can empower patients and healthcare teams to make better. More informed, and more effective decisions about clinical care. The future of healthcare is telling, with interoperability and FHIR at the forefront.