Though the healthcare industry has made significant advancements in terms of new technologies, interoperability continues to be a challenge.
On day one of the Redox and Matter Healthcare Interoperability Summit, a panel of investors and executives weighed in on the issue.
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Tools like health information exchanges have helped move the needle on interoperability. Pieces of legislation such as the 21st Century Cures Act have pushed the topic to the forefront.
But thus far, regulations haven’t been enough to make a considerable dent in the problem.
“The government’s role here with interoperability is necessary but not sufficient,” said Leland Brewster, Healthbox’s director of fund management. “We’ve seen some important legislation come through, but I do think it’s going to take a compelling capitalist business model to … bring the point home.”
From left: Moderator George McLaughlin, creative director of Redox; Matt Valin; Matthew Warrens; Dr. Sachin Shah; Robert Dickau; and Leland Brewster. Photo: Erin Dietsche
Reducing Clinical and Staff Burnout with AI Automation
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
The health IT realm has a way to go before it achieves the ideal state of interoperability. And right now, reaching that level is more important than ever before.
Dr. Sachin Shah, associate chief medical information officer at the University of Chicago Medicine, noted that the industry’s shift to value-based care is dependent on better access to information. But providers can’t have complete access without interoperability advancements. Overall, it’s not so much a technology problem as a data problem.
“I need to know everything that’s happening with those patients,” Shah said. “I cannot manage them following a value-based care approach if I don’t have access to that data.”
The barriers blocking interoperability innovation are manifold.
Matt Valin, director of North American sales for Glooko, pointed out that some health systems are hesitant to implement new technologies, often due to old habits and resistance to change.
“New technology freaks people out,” he said.
Getting providers to opt-in is also difficult. While clinicians are trained to bring no harm to their patients, they’re forced to take a chance — and possibly put their patients at risk — by using new digital tools.
“We come to them with digital solutions and say, ‘Will you take this risk with us?'” said Matthew Warrens, vice president of innovation partnerships at OSF Healthcare.
In the big scheme of things, another barrier to innovation is the business models of healthcare in the United States, Brewster noted.
Removing boundaries, improving access and continued inventiveness are keys to success in the health IT space.
Though we’re not there yet, perhaps one day we’ll reach the perfect world of interoperability as Robert Dickau, director of innovation at Allscripts, described it: “Ideally, we’d have a health record that would follow us around everywhere.” Rather than repeating your health information to each new provider, your entire medical history would be at your side.
Photo: Alchemic2015, Getty Images