Interoperability means nothing if it is not client-centric

February 26, 2016

Category: News

There has been a lot of buzz in the market about “interoperability” and a lot of people are still trying to grasp exactly what it means as a general concept and what it means on an individual level.

Interoperability is the enablement of health information systems to communicate directly with each other - be they software or devices, clinical or administrative – to improve the ability to provide care to patients.  More complete and accessible data can drive better service. Plus, any time you can have technology do work for you – like automatically downloading/ uploading information or analyzing data -- you can eliminate manual work or duplicate entry. This not only frees a lot of time you can redirect to more valuable activities, but it also can mitigate the risk of human error.

Clearly, interoperability is very important, not just to the care of patients but to the efficiency of providers. Here are Medforce, we are happy to see the idea hit the spotlight. But there are several points that have been left out of recent conversations that are critical to raise. Interoperability for interoperability’s sake misses the point.  It has to be customer-centric to make sense.

There are three different things to think about this:

1. Does a common client want or need the integration? Technology developers shouldn’t rush together to build an integration if there is not a clear client use-case on hand. Simply racking up a list of integrations to bolster your reputation or to enable cross selling of each other’s products is not putting provider needs first.
2. Is there an out-of-the-box opportunity for integration or does it require customization? Integrations require some effort to put into place. Depending on the complexity of scope and the degree that the integration is provider-specific, some cost may be passed on to you. But there are a lot of standard integration tools out there including API, inbound and outbound HL7, and ODBC. Depending on the need, using an out-of-the-box tool can reduce the need for custom development. Sometimes what providers desire is quite easy to accomplish with what is already in place. Building integrations shouldn’t be seen as a chance to build up margins.
3. Will it provide value for the provider? This may be last on our list, but it’s a top priority. In some cases technology developers pick and choose who they will integrate with based on their own business strategy – not with the customer’s best interest at heart. If an integration will deliver value for a client, we think it should be addressed even if the other technology may be a competitor. By delivering on meeting client’s unique needs, it creates what we call a “stickiness” factor. It makes it more likely they will continue to use your products – so it ultimately will still be a benefit. In the land of interoperability, there should be no adversaries - only partners and frenemies.

Interoperability shouldn’t be just about two software companies getting together and deciding to make their applications talk to each other. It isn’t about what the software companies want. It should be about what the customers want and what will make their lives easier.

At Medforce, we purposefully built our products to be open to easily allow for integrations so our clients can decide what is best for them and configure a best-of-breed solution. Our software can serve as a plug-and-play framework for your organization to bring together the focused solutions you need, from billing software to CPAP compliance. If you are unhappy with a particular technology and want to switch, you can unplug it from the Medforce system and plug in the new one.  We work with a slew of partners to build direct integrations and have also built tools to give you the automated data transfer you need when integration is not available.

We’ve been focused on interoperability from the start. We think it is up to providers to decide what a “best-of-breed” solution looks like for your unique situation. You are experts in your business. We are experts in using technology to improve productivity. Together, we make a great team.

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