New centers focus on interoperability & innovation

Interoperability touches on so many aspects of health IT since that is a main goal of all the electronic tools and solutions.

For example, the Health Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS) opened its 30,000 sq.-ft. Innovation Center, and includes a Health IT Simulation Center for testing interoperability and a year-round Healthcare Technology Showcase with rolling exhibitions on information exchange, patient engagement, mobile health and other topics.

The center is designed to be a neutral place where many companies can test the interoperability of their platforms. To that end, the simulation center, which also can be accessed virtually, allows those in the healthcare space to access a multi-care environment populated with simulated patient demographic, clinical and financial data. Through it, they can test and demonstrate scenarios in real-time that elicit a specific product’s interoperability and other capabilities. The goal is to improve quality and patient outcomes, cost-effective care coordination through secure data exchange, leading to better business performance. 

In other developments, a new independent nonprofit organization has been established to drive rapid, widespread and sustained interoperability of medical technology to improve patient safety and lower healthcare costs.

The Center for Medical Interoperability, funded by the Gary and Mary West Foundation, will be dedicated to enabling standards-based technical solutions to drive adoption of medical interoperability.

Michael M. E. Johns, MD, former chancellor of Emory University and CEO of its Health Sciences Center, is the founding chairman of the board of the Center for Medical Interoperability. “Medical interoperability is the key to unlocking healthcare communications in the hospital and removing the proprietary information silos among medical devices and electronic health records,” said Johns. “By bringing hospital systems together, we can align all stakeholder interests in a neutral forum to include technology vendors, standards organizations, certification bodies, government agencies and healthcare associations under a common goal to improve healthcare.”

In other news, I want to make sure you have our Healthcare Leadership Forum on your calendar. The Nov. 14-15 meeting in Chicago is designed to foster innovation in evidence-based medicine and promote sharing of evidence-based medicine best practices. Join us for insights and experience from industry thought leaders and opportunities to network with your colleagues across the country.

How do you think interoperability efforts across the country by organizations such as HIMSS are impacting your facility? Please share your thoughts.

Beth Walsh

Clinical Innovation + Technology editor