News Feature | September 17, 2014

HIMSS Releases Interoperability Plan

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

ONC Continues To Encourage Interoperability Efforts

A HIMSS whitepaper details the challenges interoperability presents and recommends ways to advance this type of critical connection in the U.S.

A recently released white paper from HIMSS, The Business Case Interoperability and Health Information Exchange, is the HIT advocate’s attempt “to develop this comprehensive and informative business case for the adoption of HIE and interoperability across the healthcare industry.”

"This report serves as a primer on our country’s growing national focus on health IT, prompted by President Bush’s 2004 executive order declaring EMR availability by 2014. It provides a history from where we’ve come and identifies the challenges ahead for HIE, healthcare integration and interoperability,” said HIE Community member Charlie Rogers, CEO, CoreHealth Technologies Inc. in a press release.

HIMSS further explains there are tasks that need to be addressed if HIE is to truly succeed. These tasks include:

  • advocating to improve the mismatch of regulation and policy that hinder and delay clinical interoperability needs
  • defining a clear path to a data economy – an ecosystem where data is liquid but protected
  • correcting the perception of HIE as financial overhead, and building alignment of HIE to new payment models
  • ending the use of proprietary architectures as healthcare innovation and technology accelerate

The white paper explains asserts accomplishing these tasks will require the healthcare industry to come to a consensus and will likely require the development of new policies, laws, and ideas that they say have not yet been conceived or imagined.

 “While it is too early to say, initial indicators see interoperability and health information exchange bringing value to healthcare in terms of outcomes, quality, patient engagement and other factors that indicate the investment is paying off,” said Keith Salzman, MD, IBM, and member of HIMSS Clinical and Business Intelligence community.

“The connection between health information exchange and interoperability continues as a primary focus for HIMSS through the Interoperability Showcase - held around the world each year - as well as our tools and resources on health IT standards and interoperability. This new white paper extends our vision of better health through IT and demonstrates support for the Office of the National Coordinator’s current 10-year vision of establishing interoperable health IT networks,” says Joyce Sensmeier MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, FAAN, Vice President, Informatics, HIMSS North America.