Hospitals in the United States have adopted Electronic Health Records (EHR) software solutions to streamline the care process for patients, digitizing patient records and having all important health data from all providers in one source to improve patient care drastically.
Healthcare institutions and IT professionals must work towards EHR Software interoperability to make way for seamless sharing of patient data across different stakeholders in the healthcare sector which can support care coordination and better communication.
What is EMR Software interoperability?
When an EHR software system is interoperable it means that it can smoothly integrate with other software systems to share vital information. With Electronic Medical Records software systems having interoperability options for their users then healthcare information can be easily transferred between providers and other systems. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) revealed that EHR Software solutions must have the following four areas to be integrated seamlessly to be recognized as fully interoperable,
- Software system communication
- Application interaction with clients
- Information processing
- Consumer device integration
EHR Software vendors working for interoperability
Interoperability is a key feature or capability of a top-ranked Electronic Medical Records Software system. Many EHR software vendors are working towards interoperability 4 high profile EMR Software vendors mainly Epic Systems, athenahealth EMR Software, AdvancedMD EMR Software, and Tebra Software are working to make their software products interoperable. This will support data to flow freely and enable patient information to be shared and accessed easily across healthcare IT systems.
Benefits of EMR Software Interoperability in Healthcare
Helps Protects Patient Data
Medical professionals know how important it is to safeguard sensitive patient information from hackers and these days cybersecurity threats are on the rise. Interoperability in healthcare helps to shield patient data. The employees need not type the same information multiple times as the system accesses the details it requires from the EHR Software system.
Better Care for Patients
When EMR Software systems provide interoperability options then healthcare providers have quick and easy access to healthcare data. This improves the quality of patient diagnosis and treatment as doctors make accurate decisions with the availability of data. Interoperability also enhances care coordination between providers’ which can make way for better patient care.
Improved Exchange of Data with Other Systems
Interoperable software systems in healthcare help to meet staff and doctors’ needs as information can be transmitted to others. For example, providers can communicate with the patient’s pharmacy eliminating the need for handwritten prescriptions. By sending digital prescriptions time can be saved as medication can be dispensed easily.
Empowered Patients
Interoperability allows patients to have easier access to their medical records. This increases patient involvement and treatment plan adherence by giving them the power to actively participate in healthcare decisions.
Certain Cost Benefits can be realized
Interoperable EMR software systems can help healthcare organizations realize cost benefits as productivity goes up and practices can see more patients in a day. Some processes could be eliminated as clinicians can provide more accurate care after observing that testing has been done previously.
Moving Ahead
Interoperability in healthcare is the goal of healthcare professionals as it can improve the patient care process and enhance efficiency levels. When software systems integrate seamlessly healthcare organizations can save money and witness an improvement in patient outcome levels.
