State Officials Promote Healthcare Data Interoperability

The healthcare field is known for having many areas in which data cannot be shared by appropriate providers. In June, three officials from around the country spoke in a roundtable discussion presented at Health Datapalooza 2015.

Data Interoperability is Key

Interoperability can allow both the public and private sector to work toward goals that help reduce the cost of medical care.  For example, Providers shouldn’t receive more money to perform tests that aren’t necessary, said Ohio Office of Health Transformation director Greg Moody.

Moody explained that when he started working with Ohio Governor John Kasich, they realized that they weren’t able to access all the data they wanted to explore. Moody believed lack of access to that data was causing innumerable problems, so he made it his primary objective to get reasonable access.

Interoperability is an issue in Philadelphia as well, according to Mayor Michael Nutter.

“There are numerous barriers to government entities trying to do the right thing,” said http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/Too-Many-Barriers-in-Health-IT-State-Officials-Say-50651-1.html Nutter, noting that agencies specifically can’t get access to treatment outcomes. More pointedly, he added, “Numerous purposeful barriers are in place to prevent the sharing of information between government agencies.”

Collaboration Between Private And Public Sectors

Moody thinks part of the problem is that private companies aren’t gearing their offerings toward the public sector. It goes beyond that, though: many state and local governments don’t understand what the best option is.

Ohio, like other states, had to design and engineer systems to run its ACA-mandated healthcare exchange; and the timeline was tight at eight months. Because Ohio raced to build that system, it wasn’t as user-friendly or feature-rich as they would like.

Now they are assessing their needs and determining how private companies might be able to assist.

Data Democratization & Building For Interoperability

The Health Datapalooza 2015 Conference is sponsored by the Health Data Consortium, an alliance of private companies and governmental offices interested in improving healthcare by advancing collaborative IT.

Although data is still blocked in many situations, the open infrastructure of the healthcare cloud can allow secure and compliant interoperability through simpler and more cost-effective means.

Savvy healthcare enterprises of all types are now taking advantage of the advanced interoperability that is made possible by the world’s only healthcare-exclusive cloud.

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