5 Tips For Interoperability Success In The "Merger Mania" Era

By Martha Thorne, Allscripts

The shift to value-based care has caused a number of mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, prompting experts to call 2016 the year of “merger mania” in health care. While these strategies offer benefits and economies of scale, they also introduce new challenges when it comes to integrating clinical data.

Allscripts interviewed industry leaders about the interoperability challenges they face as healthcare organizations align, and how they are forging ahead with quality care, population health and analytics initiatives. Here are five tips from the experts on how to position for success in a value-based world:

1. Recognize the cultural aspects of change

“Right now, we’re in an environment that has nine different electronic health records and 14 different practice management systems across all practices. We’ve tried for years to get the right level of interoperability in place. But it’s a significant shift. Not just in terms of technology, but also culture. One of the biggest challenges that our providers face in this transition is a sense of loss of control. They’re really fighting to maintain their independence while at the same time recognizing they need to be part of this network to meet the requirements and regulations that they can’t meet on their own.”
Nael Hafez, Chief Information Officer, Pediatric Physician’s Organization at Children’s (PPOC)