EHR Interoperability shows progress, but it's slow progress at best

A report from the HealthAffairs said that Hospitals' utilization of data for patient care from outside providers is low, with just 18.7 percent of hospitals reporting they "regularly" utilized these data. Another Health Affairs report on the conditions of EHR interoperability in healthcare uncovers sparse advance regardless of what the creators of the report called "significant endeavors."

Health IT researchers took a gander at 2014 and 2015 data and found that 2014 national data proposed that doctor's facility engagement with EHR interoperability were at low levels.

They inspected the 2015 data for national patterns in engagement in four zones of EHR Interoperability: finding, sending, receiving and integrating electronic patient data from various providers. They discovered minor uplifts in 2015, with 29.7 percent of hospitals taking part in every one of the four areas contrasted with 24.5 percent in 2014.

Sending data demonstrated an expansion of 8.1 percent while receiving data demonstrated an increment of 8.4 percent.

Yet, there were no adjustments in integrating systems. But, Hospitals' utilization of data for patient care from outside providers was low, with just 18.7 percent of hospitals reporting they "frequently" utilized these data.

"Our outcomes uncover that hospitals' advance toward interoperability is moderate and that advance is centered around moving data between hospitals, not on guaranteeing convenience of data in clinical decisions."

Researchers across the globe reasoned that in 2015, less than 30 percent of hospitals occupied with the four essential regions of interoperability, a slight increment more than 2014. Engagement in one area, coordinating outside data, was stagnant.

 "This is a worry since integration is critical for data usability, and absence of integration was considered to be a hindrance to the utilization of essential data in clinical care," they said.

On a high note, scientists found that each of the four areas of EHR interoperability was decidedly connected with the accessibility and utilization of outside clinical data and that about a portion of the hospitals were "regularly" or "in some cases" utilizing this data in the conveyance of patient care, there is still a lot of improvement needed.

Nonetheless, they indicated issues with coordinating data into existing EHR systems. Clinical work processes were the most regularly referred to as the major hurdles for hospitals that were not routinely utilizing external data for patient care. It additionally underscores the need to move the main focus from transmitting data to data usability.