You might think that by this third decade of the 21st century, the computer systems of any long-term services and supports organization could talk seamlessly, reliably and securely to any pharmacy or doctor’s office. But full interoperability hasn’t yet arrived, despite progress.
Here are some of the challenges and opportunities in interoperability, and solutions.
HIPAA’s mythical barrier to interoperability. One of the biggest challenges is an overcautious approach regarding HIPAA. But HIPAA isn’t a barrier to interoperability. HIPAA is specifically designed to facilitate interoperability. Consulting legal and technical experts in HIPAA helps executives to see HIPAA for what it is: a codified, systematic, rules-based framework for interoperability and information sharing.
Compatibility challenges. Technical compatibility challenges are just another version of the age-old challenge of Windows and Mac, iOS and Android, Word and RTF, 32-bit and 64-bit.
Compatibility challenges will always be with us — and so will the solutions. Most compatibility challenges can be solved. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Doing the homework of compatibility research, before purchasing software solutions, is an essential step in the decision-making process. It’s crucial to maximize the number of pharmacies’ and doctors’ office systems any eMAR application integrates with, for example.
Workflow challenges. The scope of change from paper-based serial communication in medical administration records (MAR) to electronic, complex networked communications goes far beyond the mere speed of transmission.
Every new widely adopted technology calls for designing new workflows from the ground up. Otherwise, we’ll miss the exponentially more efficient workflow innovations which are already at our fingertips.
In technology which is already available, we see enormous opportunities for improving our users’ experiences, and for increasing efficiency and quality of service.
In addition, if we don’t innovate, then our competitors will. These competitors may come from unexpected quarters. Remember that NASA can predict the movements of asteroids, but never saw SpaceX or Blue Origin streaking over the horizon to now dominate the space industry. We don’t live in a walled garden.
Universal connectivity. Many devices are now living in our information ecosystem: company and private computers, phones, smartwatches, and Internet-connected medical devices. eMAR interoperability won’t be achieved by a monolithic system from one provider.
The solution also isn’t what’s too often happening today — piecing together several software systems, then trying to get them to talk to each other and to our strategic partners. This approach achieves important but limited results.
The technical solution. The technical solution is choosing a good fit from among the third-party ecosphere of software companies such as iCareManager, Therap, PointClickCare, etc. A good fit means it fits not only your organization but also can communicate seamlessly with the organizations you work with, most notably doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
The agile, highly competitive companies in this third-party ecosystem have the flexibility, the investment capital, and motivation to program and maintain multiple integrations. In fact, they specialize in making software (say, an eMAR module) connect with multiple end-use systems — pharmacies and doctors’ offices.
An eMAR system with multiple integrations is like a diplomat fluent in multiple languages. Communication is the key to delivering more ideal experiences for people supported by long term supports providers.
Toward true interoperability. Technical interoperability is a good beginning.
Questions we must answer together in this continual discussion, include: What can my organization offer others in the system toward better support for individuals? What can theirs offer us? What information can we share in order to work together for the best outcomes for the individuals we serve? And how can we communicate in the new, multimodal technologies being created all around us? Answering these questions together, and connecting based on the answers, will bring us to the deeper goal, the only one that really matters — a thriving, HIPAA regulated economy of information exchange, enabling every individual in our purview of support to thrive.
Babar Nawaz is the co-founder of iCareManager.
