Common interoperability challenges in healthcare and how to deal with them
Do you work in healthcare? If so, you should be aware of common interoperability challenges and know how to deal with them.
Get started by checking out the following insightful article.
What is healthcare interoperability?
In terms of electronic health records, healthcare interoperability refers to healthcare providers being able to share patient records and other information electronically with another healthcare provider’s system.
While EHRs have helped to streamline and enhance processes within the healthcare industry in a major way, challenges remain concerning interoperability. Let’s look at four of the most common.
1) Being able to access and manage consistent information across multiple sources
Firstly, inconsistent information across the network can be a big problem, especially for healthcare IT workers who service large health networks.
Providers could place different elements of data in multiple places, making it challenging for healthcare IT departments to access that data, which results in a lot of wasted time.
Thankfully, the solution to this problem is easy. Simply adopt a unified network and interface.
With the right software, processes can be automated to ensure it’s easy to pull data from different silos and establish a uniform dataset. When it comes to Urgent Care in Augusta, GA, data is collected right at the moment.
2) Being able to validate electronic requests for patient data
Maintaining the privacy and security of patient health records can be challenging if not done properly; especially in this day and age where the digital revolution is transforming the healthcare industry.
Healthcare providers must know when it’s OK to process electronic requests for patient information in order to abide by laws and ensure data remains secure.
The solution is to use a data management platform that verifies data requests and verifies accuracy via both automation and human inspection.
On the other hand, if healthcare providers simply rely on the approval of electronic health records for sharing sensitive patient data, they cannot ensure security is dealt with correctly.
3) Ensuring patient data is readily available
In the U.S., healthcare providers must make data readily available by law. If they don’t, they could be reported as a data blocker and end up having to pay fines.
Healthcare providers in the U.S. must follow the requirements set out by the Cures Act Final Rule. Other countries have similar obligations.
To ensure such things don’t become problematic, it’s vital that healthcare providers export data in a uniform manner to a single place.
An online portal should be created that enables authorized users to access data from the central place where the data is stored. Therefore, patient data will always be available to authorized users at all times.
4) Needing to hire a specialist to manage interoperability
Achieving interoperable electronic health records can be a lot of work if it’s left to a single individual.
In fact, finding a professional with the right qualifications and experience to maintain EHR interoperability in itself can be challenging. It can also be expensive, especially for smaller organizations.
The solution to this issue is simple, though. Instead of hiring a person, use specialized software that automatically handles the interoperability.
Check out this helpful post to learn more about what is EHR interoperability and how the right software can eliminate the vast majority of challenges that organizations and individuals dealing with EHRs can experience in the healthcare industry.
Challenges can be solved with the right methods
Challenges can be solved with the right methods. In terms of challenges related to electronic health records, finding the right CRM solution can be an overwhelming task. The intricacy of this sector means that businesses require specialized tools to manage their healthcare and patient relationships, sales, and marketing endeavors.
Embarking on a life sciences CRM comparison journey equips you with essential insights, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of available options against alternatives. Choosing the fitting CRM solution becomes pivotal in resolving challenges such as accessing and managing consistent information across multiple sources, validating electronic requests for patient data, ensuring the ready availability of patient data, and eliminating the need to hire a specialist to manage interoperability.
Photo by SJ Objio
