“… But if federal health interoperability is the finish line, where should health IT leaders get started? And what building blocks should serve as the foundation for your interoperability conversations, both with your internal team and with external partners? Great questions. For answers, let’s take a closer look at five distinct elements that you’ll want to consider when developing your own federal health interoperability project.”
Standardization
“To maximize your data’s value and ability to be used across agencies and platforms, it’s imperative that you keep electronic health record (EHR) and health information exchange (HIE) data consistent and standardized. Any deviation from the standard carries the possibility of rendering the data useless in any system other than your own, so uniformity is essential…”
Clear Governance
“Another building block of federal health IT interoperability is that of governance; essentially, who is responsible for (and has access to) what resources and when? Agreement on these roles and the rules of engagement upfront is imperative to the success of your shared project. The time to determine how you will overcome challenges and work out any issues in the shared decision-making process is before the process begins, not in the middle of the situation, so ensure that you, your internal stakeholders and your partner agencies are on the same page.”
Security & Privacy
“With ransomware attacks against municipalities making headlines and data breaches wreaking havoc on a regular basis, it’s understandable that data security and privacy are primary concerns for both federal health executives and consumers. And exchanging data across agencies brings its own challenges that must be resolved.” Read the full article here.
Source: Federal Health Interoperability: 5 Building Blocks – July 19, 2019. CNSI.
