Interoperability in healthcare: benefits, challenges, and resolutions
The healthcare industry now is fuelled by cutting-edge medical office software and systems that are making the healthcare practices immuned to patient no-shows, and security breaches, and providing them with a wide array of benefits to help them grow. The patient and practice management software surrounds the patients and practices, who can easily opt for the software and systems of their choice.
The patients are not shying away from the digital products and the practices too, are extending the medical software and systems that make the patients' journey easy and painless. One more thing that the medical office software is facilitating, is interoperability.
What is interoperability?
Interoperability is defined as the ability of the information systems, software, applications, and devices to access, share, integrate and use data cooperatively in a coordinated way within and across the boundaries of regions and nations
It is the ability of different information systems, devices, and applications (systems) to access, exchange, integrate, and cooperatively use data in a coordinated manner, within and across the boundaries of organizations, regions, and nations, to offer timely and seamless portability of information along with optimizing the health of individuals and populations across the world.
The interoperability that the healthcare software and systems now exude enables the practices, patients, and other individuals to access and share the data securely and appropriately while keeping the process aligned to the guidelines defined by the regulators.
There are 4 main levels of interoperability that can be witnessed today. These levels can be defined as:
• Level 1 or Foundational Level :
The Foundational Level of interoperability establishes the inter-connectivity requirements to communicate and receive data securely to and from a system or an application.• Level 2 or Structural Level :
The Structural Level of interoperability defines the format, syntax, and organization of data exchange for interpretation at all levels including the data field level.• Level 3 or Semantic Level :
The Semantic Level of interoperability makes shared understanding possible and helps add meaning to the users with the help of common underlying models and codification of the data including the use of data elements with standardized definitions from publicly available value sets and coding vocabularies.• Level 4 or Organizational Level :
The Organizational Level of interoperability helps in facilitating secure, seamless, and timely communication and use of data both within and between organizations, entities, and individuals, and is associated with governance, policy, social, legal, and organizational consideration. These components help in enabling shared consent, trust, and integrated end-user processes and workflows.What is Interoperability in Healthcare and Why is it Beneficial for the Healthcare Industry?
With the onset of digitalization and the evolution of the healthcare systems and processes worldwide, it was also important that the healthcare industry focused on the interoperability of these systems and software in order to ensure a foolproof ecosystem ahead. However, this has also been possible now!
As we have previously mentioned, interoperability considers the digital systems and solutions a part of the whole ecosystem, which will further ease the process of accessing and sharing data to and from the systems. Now, in the healthcare industry, it is to be noted that we can now access and exchange healthcare information electronically from one system/device to another.
This interoperability that we are witnessing in the healthcare industry is proving to be hugely beneficial for healthcare practices, other medical units, and ultimately, the healthcare industry. Here are some ways in which the interoperability in healthcare is proving to be a huge boon for everyone associated with the industry and beyond:
Reduced healthcare costs
Healthcare costs have been rising since the earliest of times memorable. Regardless of the Covid-19 outbreak when the US healthcare expenses rose by 9%, the healthcare costs in the US and across the globe have always seen an upward curve. However, this increase in healthcare costs will plateau with the rise and spread of interoperability in the healthcare business. The costs of paper earlier added $18-22 bn to the healthcare industry as unnecessary expenses, which have already started lessening drastically to a minimum and will shrink more, with the digital healthcare processes that are now available at an arm's length.
Enhanced quality of care for the patients
The patients would ultimately get hold of quality healthcare. The practices would bring about this quality of healthcare by implementing efficient medical office software solutions from GrowPractice that would include patient appointment schedulers, online patient check-in and intake software, and more.
Faster and more efficient medical care
With the help of the modern-day technologies associated with the medical offices of the healthcare industry and their interoperability, faster and more efficient medical care can now be extended to the patients. This will include faster checking of the patients' health statistics and medical records via EHR and PM software, faster appointment bookings, check-ins and intakes, smoother and more efficient treatment, accurate billing, smarter followups and reminders, and more.
Strong patient-practice relationship
With the introduction of the digital medical office systems and solutions, ad the interoperability existing among them, the patients and the practices, including the doctors, nurses, practice manager, and the medical staff, would get more time to interact. This will ensure a stronger patient-practice relationship and will help boost practice credibility.
Secure healthcare practices
Security is paramount in the healthcare industry. Going by the statistical data, around 69% of the patients want their medical providers to connect with them through secure emails. Furthermore, more than 80% of the patients want their appointments to be booked via secure web services/platforms. Also, even when it comes to patient portals that the patients use to check their healthcare information, around 78% of them want security to be the priority. This security, which most of the practices lacked earlier, can now be their strength, which is possible if they simply go with the patient and practice management software solutions that GrowPractice brings in.
Improved safety and privacy for the patients
It is the patients for whom the healthcare industry thrives. This is why the patients' health is a priority always for practices and other healthcare units. Research shows that 48% of the patient deaths occur due to medical errors, which are now preventable with the improved digital software and systems that we have now. With the improved interoperability that can now be availed in the healthcare practices, it is easier for the practices now to capture and interpret all the data across devices and applications. This will also help them check out any innaccurate or missing information and make it right!
Healthcare interoperability is thus, certainly a boon for the healthcare industry as a whole and is not limited to the patients and practices only. However, achieving complete interoperability would mean walking out safely across all the hurdles that are thrown in along the path. If you have now already begun to wonder about these challenges, then in the following section we will be diving into the main challenges and their resolutions to achieve satisfactory interoperability.
Major Challenges to Achieving Interoperability and How to Fix Them!
Here learning the major challenges in the path of achieving interoperability in healthcare and their possible solutions:
Irregularity of the privacy laws
The privacy laws are governed by several government bodies and thus, the laws change from state to state. These changing privacy laws, thus pose a huge risk to the operability of the interoperable systems.
Solution : Before venturing out with an interoperable system or interoperability, the practices should be well-versed with the laws of their state and choose a local provider or one that is trustworthy and offers efficient medical office software solutions like GrowPractice.
Providers posing resistance
While a large number of medical providers are focusing on revamping their medical offices with smarter digital solutions for healthcare businesses, some are still standing against interoperability and advocating the manual processes.
Solution: This problem can well be fixed simply by making the providers understand the benefits that they will be able to enjoy once they embrace the practice and patient management software and solutions. With the digital tools and systems that GrowPractice brings to the medical offices of the practices, the providers now can book patient appointments, offer them a wide range of payment options, extend customized patient workflow to them, follow them up all the time, and help them in at least a dozen more ways.
High cost of hiring specialists in interoperability
Hiring specialists to operate the advanced medical software is certainly expensive for the practices, which is one of the primary reasons why most of the practices are taking a backfoot.
Solution: Choosing a software provider who would extend easy and efficient medical software and systems that would not have a separate staff is the only answer to this problem. GrowPractice is one of those providers who not only offer easy software solutions but also extend 24x7 support for users in need!
Inconsistent information and too many sources
If the practice has not yet switched over to a defined system and software, it will continue to face issues with inconsistent information scattered all over the multiple sources that they need to go through.
Solution: An easy solution to this problem is to adopt a single, unified network and interface to write, share and access information.
Making data available at all times
Making data available at all times is a big problem today, and this has been more in focus after the rise of the drive for interoperability. Though data is always required readily, sometimes there are many unprecedented delays.
Solution: Though interoperability is among us, many still find it a challenge working with these systems because of the delay or the lack of support that they offer. GrowPractice's medical office software and systems are easy to integrate with over 65 EHR/PM software and are also fast and efficient all the time. So, choosing GrowPractice patient and practice management software and solutions for your medical practice can easily wipe this issue out in no time.
GrowPractice, which brings a wide array of healthcare software and systems is backed by the trust of the US Federal Government Agencies. Interoperability would no longer be a deal with GrowPractice, as it is often said. Here are some of the GrowPractice offerings:
• Efficient online patient appointment schedulers
• Digital patient check-in and intake process
• HIPAA-compliant two-way texting
• Online patient followups and reminders
• Smart online patient reviews and feedback
• Customized patient workflow
