Our April meeting of Health TechNet was held on Friday, April 20, at Nelson Mullins’ office in Washington, D.C.
An important challenge facing hospitals and physicians in implementing EHR is the nature of the linkages that are available between the hospital and non-hospital based, independent physicians. The related challenges faced by patients seeking referrals with a record exchange can also be challenging. Do the hospital and the various physicians all have to be on the same system or with compatible vendors? Are there other ways of communicating electronic information through non-system platforms and how are these developing? Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and block chain are being cited as key components to improve this interoperability. Are there relevant non-technological factors required for real-world interoperability?
Dr. Joseph Bormel, a prominent consultant in Health IT, and Jennifer Moore of HCIC discussed new patterns in these communications and how they are evolving, the economics of such systems, and how easily they can be implemented.