What is interoperability?
At its most basic definition, interoperability is the ability to send and receive information.
According to section 4003 of the 21st Century Cures Act, the term 'interoperability,' with respect to health information technology, means such health information technology that— "(A) enables the secure exchange of electronic health information with, and use of electronic health information from, other health information technology without special effort on the part of the user; "(B) allows for complete access, exchange, and use of all electronically accessible health information for authorized use under applicable State or Federal law; and "(C) does not constitute information blocking as defined in section 3022(a)." (Source)
Sending and receiving said information in ways ranging from existing fax and email protocols to emerging interfaces such as APIs and HL7 FHIR.
Why is interoperability important?
As it relates to the 21st Century Cures Act, interoperability provides a seamless and secure way for networks to access and exchange electronic health information. For received information to be useful in the hands of these clinicians, it requires a workflow that can output data in the recipient’s portal, allowing information to follow patients no matter where they seek care.
The ability to receive and leverage patient data to make informed clinical decisions is compounded by the fact that many providers are already receiving an alarmingly high number of messages per day. A recent study found that primary care physicians received nearly 50 messages each day on average.
With health data exchange set to increase to comply with federal regulation, providers need technology that streamlines workflows when receiving information from external sources to integrate this data into clinical decision-making.
The future of interoperability in healthcare
Powerful technology solutions already exist and are only growing in the capabilities to transform unstructured data into structured information. Two tools that solutions leverage are optical character recognition (OCR) and natural language processing (NLP). These technologies are transforming unstructured documents, such as fax images, into intelligence that receiving clinicians can easily incorporate into their workflows. OCR automates the extraction of printed text from the scanned document, then NLP makes sense of the text in context, which can then be converted into separate data elements.
Here at Extract we are doing just that. Our solution, HealthyData, we leverage the latest advancements in machine learning (ML), optical character recognition (OCR), and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the critical information in structured and unstructured documents. The software also uses keywords, pattern recognition, context, and database lookups to find or triangulate high level data, such as patient name, MRN, and date of birth, and abstracts complex data coming from laboratory test results, patient referrals, second opinions, etc.
Unlike standard OCR solutions that simply convert files to raw text, HealthyData reads documents like a human does, quickly determining the document type which indicates the type of data that the document contains. The software extracts the critical information, then structures and delivers the data to the appropriate downstream system. The HealthyData Platform has many capabilities including search, duplicate document detection, manual and automated pagination, priority patient queueing, and automated document routing. The software can file discrete data at the patient, order, and encounter level.
HealthyData acts like an electronic interface (HL7, etc.) in that it translates and delivers unstructured data into discrete data that is properly mapped to the designated downstream system (EMR, EHR, LIS, DMS, research databases, etc.). The platform works with faxed, scanned, and electronic documents.
Looking Forward
With new regulation healthcare organizations need to consider their ability to act on clinical data.
Interoperability capabilities that reduce the burden on information receivers and ensure that the right information is available, quickly, at in right place. Healthcare professionals can then use their clinical expertise to interpret and act on evidence-based data to provide appropriate, effective, and safe patient care.
If you are interested in learning more about how we can automate your EHR orders, check out this recent blog or reach out today and we would be happy to set up a time to talk though our solutions.
Sources:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784817
About the Author: Taylor Genter
Taylor is the Marketing Specialist at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.