In a Post-COVID-19 World, Interoperability Will Prove Key

It has become clear that our healthcare network is woefully fragmented, with the lack of cooperation between organizations underscored by the absence of data interoperability, putting both the general public and care practitioners at a disadvantage.

The key to improving patient outcomes and managing population health is interoperability, the transfer of information seamlessly between multiple sources. Leveraging healthcare’s full potential requires the free (and secure) sharing of data with the technologies able to analyze it effectively.

Failure to learn from this pandemic will mean we miss an opportunity for real advancement in medical practice. The tools which will be most important in the future are those that can analyze existing population data and provide answers without relying on a constant stream of new data. The future is in sight, but without better access to the health records currently held in silos, we cannot optimize these algorithms effectively.