Op-ed highlights need for interoperable health IT

Health care providers, technology vendors and the government must work together to make health information easier and less expensive to share, writes Mitzi Cardenas, chief information officer for Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, MO, and chair of the AHA’s Interoperability Advisory Group, in an op-ed piece published this week by FierceHealthIT. “The current system nationwide makes information sharing very difficult with costly and inefficient work-arounds, which is why the need for progress is urgent,” Cardenas notes. “…Interoperability in Kansas City and the nation is sorely needed to do the right thing for our patients and make sure the funds invested in health information technology are well-spent and effective. As Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services considers interoperability, they ought to keep these priorities and patients in mind.” For more on the issue, see the AHA’s recent report on the importance of interoperability.