National Academy of Medicine report examines interoperability in health care

While health care has made great strides in the proliferation of electronic health records, establishment of regional health information exchanges, and development of data exchange standards and interfaces, interoperability among health care technologies remains very limited, according to a National Academy of Medicine report released today. Interoperability is the ability to seamlessly and automatically deliver data across time and space from and to multiple devices and organizations, and the lack of interoperability results in waste, inefficiency and clinician burnout, according to the report. The report outlines steps for health systems to establish comprehensive, ongoing procurement strategies with system-wide interoperability by moving away from serial purchases of individual software and hardware with proprietary interfaces toward those that will interoperate with others through a vendor-neutral open platform. The report also contains a technical supplement that details specific approaches.