How to Optimize and Keep Up with the Evolution of Interoperability

Cerner says the evolution of technology has helped it maintain and facilitate interoperability and patient data sharing over the last 40 years.

September 15, 2020 - From the early-eighties to now, interoperability, its definitions, and the scope of it has evolved tremendously. Whether it’s data integration or data interfacing, interoperability is all about data sharing.

Not only is interoperability the exchange of patient data, but at Cerner, it’s the process of making patient data accessible for health systems and ensuring the data is always relevant to patient care.

However, while Cerner consistently looks forward and adapts to various evolutions in technology, EHR vendors, throughout history, have faced several interoperability challenges.

“Getting to a common understanding of the data that needs to be exchanged and the increase in the number of stakeholders that we are able to connect to is a challenge,” Hans Buitendijk, director of interoperability strategy at Cerner, said in an interview with EHRIntelligence.

“The variety of provider perspectives and EHR perspectives on the data, how it’s expressed the level of standardization of the data, how you express conditions, diagnoses, procedures, and tests.”