Healthcare organizations driving interoperability innovations

Many health organizations are working to get patient information flowing more seamlessly, but data overload can frustrate clinicians. In a HIMSS23 Views from the Top session preview, athenahealth CEO Bob Segert offers thoughts on how IT can help.

Healthcare organizations are driving interoperability innovations to improve patient outcomes and physician experiences, and all medical organizations should prioritize interoperability in order to achieve a fully connected healthcare ecosystem.

While government initiatives such as the 21st Century Cures Act and CMS’ Promoting Interoperability Programs are moving the industry forward, the regulations only set a minimum standard, says athenahealth CEO Bob Segert, a HIMSS23 anchor exhibitor.

In a Views from the Top Session on “Intuitive Interoperability and Improved Patient Outcomes,” Segert will be joined by Clive Fields, co-founder and chief medical officer of VillageMD and Scott Middleton, founder of SC House Calls, to discuss new data applications toward the goal of improved outcomes.

Physicians want improved connectivity – and clarity
“We did a recent position sentiment survey and there were 743 participants and 94% of the physicians say that improved connectivity can enhance patient outcomes and 91% say it can improve the physician experience,” Segert told Healthcare IT News.

However, when patient record data is transferred from another system, it comes in these big huge files, “and we clog up the electronic health record,” he said.

The concept of “intuitive interoperability” is about making the experience of finding needed patient data in the EHR better.

“It’s really about trying to make sure that that information can be accessed in a way that doctors can consume,” he explained.

Clinicians need to filter data quickly to get the relevant information they need as they go from patient to patient – instead of trying to scroll through discharge notes and other information.

“It’s like they can’t find what they need,” he said. “They don’t have 15 minutes to prepare for the patient and go sort through this stuff.”

Parsing data for better usability
By curating patient data and enabling physicians to access it in a way they can actually do their jobs more efficiently and effectively, they can provide better care.

“Our view is that interoperability is a lot more than just flat file data,” said Segert. “We believe that we can do a lot better.”

At HIMSS23, Seget and his co-panelists will share insights on what they think the industry needs to do to move forward on the user experience portion of interoperability and spend time answering attendees’ questions in order to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

“How do we work together to identify the information that’s really needed such that it can be put into the electronic health record, any health record?” he said.

Segert, Fields and Middleton will offer more perspective in their panel discussion, “Intuitive Interoperability and Improved Patient Outcomes,” moderated by Jessica Sweeney-Platt, vice president of research and editorial strategy for athenahealth. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in South Building, Level 4, in room S100 B. Healthcare IT News