The COVID-19 pandemic has put importance on EHR software interoperability under attention. Health technology experts believe that Electronic Health Records vendors need to work together to deploy the FHIR APIs during a crisis.
Important patient data cannot be exchanged seamlessly without interoperability between separate EHR vendors. There can be deadly penalties if the healthcare provider cannot access patient data promptly. Thus Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software interoperability is crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic and for the better future of healthcare. The ONC for this purpose has called on medical providers and device developers to encourage and promote patient data access using third-party apps and APIs. If software systems are interoperable, providers would face no issues regarding patient data exchange to promote high-quality patient care.
Benefits of Interoperability during and beyond the pandemic
Interoperability is crucial for reporting outbreak data to public health agencies to give guidance against the COVID-19 pandemic. Interoperability between EHR Software systems would allow medical researchers to easily collect data regarding the virus. This data can be then used to identify trends in symptoms, mortality rates, and treatment options. The information can also be used by healthcare providers to screen methodologies. Interoperability can also make telehealth visits more meaningful by supporting the remote doctor to pull all needed patient records before the virtual session starts. According to research published in the journal Studies in Health Technology and Informatics medical errors is the third major cause of patient deaths in the US. When patient records can be shared smoothly chances of errors can decline and health outcome levels can enhance.
A completely interoperable ecosystem of patient-driven information that includes age, gender, genetics, past procedures, and medical history will be truly valuable for healthcare providers to provide treatment and improve patient outcomes. Interoperability is truly crucial as it allows to unlock and share data seamlessly from clinical trials, lab, pharmacy, and demographic information. An environment that encourages and fosters interoperability improves clinical outcomes and results in administrative cost efficiencies due to standardizing data.
Conclusion
Electronic Health Records Software interoperability will allow healthcare providers to have access to comprehensive patient data which will support them to make informed and accurate decisions. Having access to diverse patient data with the ability to mine actionable information could be useful for the United States to track the spread of the virus. This pandemic has shed light on how important it is to take the road of interoperability to manage future viruses more effectively and efficiently. When health information systems are well-integrated, health plans can support understanding of their utilization and service demands. Interoperability in short is the driving force of enhanced healthcare models for everyone.
