Introduction
It’s no secret that interoperability is a major issue in the healthcare industry. With the growing number of patients and providers, there’s more data than ever before, but that data isn’t always easy to access or use. It’s also not surprising that some people think achieving interoperability is impossible: It sounds like an impossible task! But it doesn’t have to be. In this post, we’ll look at what it takes to achieve interoperability, including how you can make sure your health records are available when they’re needed most—and what benefits come from achieving true interoperability between organizations and their customers as well as other stakeholders in your ecosystem.
Interoperability is misunderstood.
Interoperability is misunderstood.
It’s not just about sharing data, it’s about using it in a way that is consistent with how others use it.
Interoperability requires trust.
Interoperability requires trust. Trust is the cornerstone of interoperability, but it’s also an essential element of all relationships. Trust can be defined as a relationship between two parties where one party believes the other party will not harm them and will act in their best interests at all times. In other words, trust involves mutual respect and confidence that you have no reason to fear for your safety with someone else because they are looking out for your best interests above all else.
Trust is important in all types of relationships–from friendships, romantic partnerships and business partnerships–but it’s especially crucial for organizations seeking to achieve interoperability with each other or across multiple platforms/systems within their own organizations (e.g., hospitals sharing patient records).
Interoperability requires the use of common data models and standards.
Data models and standards are a way for everyone to understand the data.
Data models are a set of rules that define how data should be structured and represented. Standards define how to use that data model, so everyone knows how to interact with it. These two things are used in every industry, not just healthcare–they’re what allow you to send an email from Gmail or Outlook (and yes, those are two different companies) without having to worry about whether your recipient will be able to read it!
Here’s where this gets interesting: there are lots of different types of interoperability standards out there for healthcare organizations today–each one addresses a specific aspect of healthcare data exchange such as sharing information between providers or patients; but none of them address all aspects at once! This means there’s no one standard we can point toward as being “the answer” when it comes time for us all agree on something like interoperability; rather than relying on one specific solution which may not work well under certain circumstances (or worse yet might contain hidden costs), I think our best bet would be ensuring that each party involved understands exactly what kind(s)
Interoperability requires a common vocabulary, definitions, and practices.
You can’t talk about interoperability without defining the terms you use. Terms like “interoperability” and “standards” have a variety of meanings, depending on who you ask. It’s important that everyone use the same definitions–including vendors, customers and regulators.
The most common way to make sure this happens is by creating a glossary of definitions for commonly used terms in your industry or sector. For example:
- Interoperability – The ability for two or more systems (or components within those systems) to exchange information so that they can work together effectively as part of an integrated system or solution with minimal effort required from either party
Interoperability is a two-way street between organizations and their customers.
Interoperability is a two-way street. Organizations need to earn customer trust, but customers also have to earn the right to expect interoperation from their providers. Here’s what we mean:
- Customers need to know that their data is safe and secure. They need confidence that the organization will take appropriate measures (such as encryption) to prevent unauthorized access or theft of information by third parties like hackers or competitors who might want access for nefarious purposes such as stealing trade secrets or personal identity data that could be used in phishing schemes against other individuals within an organization’s customer base.
- Customers also need assurance that their data will be used appropriately–and not just by anyone at any time. For example, if a patient provides her doctor with her medical history during an appointment and then later finds out that this information was shared with someone else without her consent (for example, another physician), she would feel betrayed by both doctors involved since neither disclosed this sharing arrangement beforehand nor asked permission before transferring any portion of patient records outside their offices. This scenario illustrates why organizations must ensure transparency throughout all phases of interoperation planning: from initial planning stages through implementation efforts throughout each stage until full deployment across all departments within each business unit; from vendors providing services related specifically toward helping achieve these goals through training programs offered internally within companies themselves.”
The goal of interoperability is to make sure that data can flow freely among systems without being manipulated or changed in any way, which means that developers need to work together to agree on how data will be shared and how it will be used during the process of sharing it
Interoperability is the ability of information systems to exchange and make use of data in a compatible way. Interoperability is often mentioned as something that must be achieved when creating new systems, but it also affects existing systems that need to share data with each other. The goal of interoperability is to make sure that data can flow freely among systems without being manipulated or changed in any way, which means that developers need to work together to agree on how data will be shared and how it will be used during the process of sharing it.
The four elements of interoperability are:
- Data must be shared in a way that does not change its meaning (semantic)
- Data must be shared in a way that does not change its structure (structural) * Data must be shared in a way that does not change its format (formatting) * Data must also maintain its context (contextual)
Conclusion
Interoperability is a complex topic, but it’s important that we understand what it means and how we can achieve it. The goal of interoperability is to make sure that data can flow freely among systems without being manipulated or changed in any way, which means that developers need to work together to agree on how data will be shared and how it will be used during the process of sharing it.
