Interoperability takes center stage at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference, which begins Feb. 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The week-long event will feature an interoperability exhibit that includes seven special event zones and 14 use-case areas that show how interoperable technology can improve outcomes within all areas of health care, including the medical imaging sector.
Looking Toward An Interoperable Future
Medical technology companies over the next year will expedite health care's movement toward sector-wide interoperability by releasing cloud-based devices and informatics platforms, reported AuntMinnie.com. Industry experts believe cloud-based storage systems are key to facilitating a fluid, widespread exchange of health care information and improving overall care.
The federal government has taken up the cause of interoperability, as well. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology set out what it calls the Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap, reported AuntMinnie.com. The four-pronged program encourages health care systems to adopt interoperable data storage systems by establishing best practices for the implementation of cloud-based information exchanges, reconfiguring federal and state reimbursement models to fit the value-based care philosophy, aligning federal and state entities to shore up data security systems essential to interoperability and uniting third-party industry stakeholders. The ONC hopes to meet the roadmap's initial goals by 2017.
"We must continue, in the near-term, to focus on ensuring that systems can send, receive, find and use the priority data domains to ensure electronic health information is securely available to improve health care quality and outcomes," ONC Chair Dr. Karen DeSalvo wrote in a blog post on her office's website.
Medical imaging groups are also involved in the advancement of interoperable technology. In November of last year, the Radiological Society of North America, in collaboration with The Sequoia Project, established the Image Share Validation Program, which tests available interoperable picture archiving and communication and radiology information systems to insure that they comply with federal medical device and interoperability standards. And, in January, the American College of Radiology helped the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions draft legislation to promote interoperability in health care, reported the ACR's Radiology and Health IT Blog.
HIMSS Steps In
The HIMSS has included interoperability showcases in its annual conferences since 2012. One specific portion of this year's showcase examines interoperable technology in the context of patient-centered care, another hot topic in the health care industry.
The showcase is centered on a use-case section that explores how interoperable devices and interfaces directly affect patient care. HIMSS 2016 attendees will have the opportunity to survey 14 patients whose instance of care depended upon their doctors' access to critical medical information.
The exhibit also includes seven theater presentations in which health care leaders discuss specific entities or topics related to interoperable technology. There will be presentations covering key organizations such as the API Bar, Federal Health Architecture, the HIMSS Innovation Center and Integrating Healthcare Enterprise. Others will touch on more general topics like innovation, telehealth and testing and certification.
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Ronny Bachrach
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