Patient Care and Health

Interoperability of Electronic Medical Records

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are patient-management tools that have been created in the health sector to help coordinate patient care. These tools or system focuses on capturing patient-generated health information from outside the clinical setting and incorporating it into the patient's medical history. Electronic health records were developed to help improve patient care through sharing patient information seamlessly. However, for EHRs to have the ability to share patient information seamlessly, an interoperable health information technology environment should be established. This essentially means that an interoperable health IT environment is mandatory for electronic health records to be effective.

What is Interoperability?

Interoperability is a term used to refer to the level with which devices and systems can share data and interpret it (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, 2013). This means that two devices or systems are considered interoperable when they exchange data seamlessly and eventually present it in an understandable manner. In the health care field, interoperability is defined as the capability of varying software applications and IT systems to exchange patient data and utilize the shared data. In the case of electronic health records, interoperability involves seamlessly exchange of data across clinicians, pharmacy, hospital, lab and patient despite of the application used in this process. Moreover, this concept entails the ability of health IT systems to work in a coordinated manner across organizational or departmental boundaries for effective delivery of care services to individuals and communities. Interoperability of electronic health records help in ensuring better workflows and decreased ambiguity, which in turn enhances the delivery of care services and contributes to the overall improvement of patient care and safety.

Benefits of More Interoperability within EHR Systems

Given the significance of interoperability in the effectiveness of electronic health records, it's increasingly important to create more interoperability within EHR systems. There are several potential benefits of more interoperability within electronic health record systems. One of these benefits is reduced clinical errors and prevention of drug and allergy interactions (Stroupe, 2011). Electronic health records are developed in the health care system to reduce medical errors through dealing with the unreliability of patient-generated information. More interoperability of these records helps in achieving this goal through seamless data exchange and usage, which enhances the reliability of patient information.