The Opportunity

Interoperability is defined as the extent to which systems and devices can exchange data, and interpret that shared data. One of the goals in using health information technology is to provide comprehensive information on patients at the point of care, as well as integrating information across different sources and sites, so that the provider can evaluate the most appropriate options for patients based on the effectiveness of treatments, including factors such as quality, risk, benefit and costs. Currently the promulgation of common data messaging standards and clinical vocabularies have increased interoperability, but they are not as effective as they could be for the seamless exchange and use of data to derive the maximum benefits of health IT. For two systems to be interoperable, they must be able to exchange data and subsequently present that data such that it can be understood by a user.

Over the last few years, there has been an increased awareness by both private and public sectors of the ability to improve the quality and safety of healthcare with interoperable health information technology (HIT) systems. These technologies include electronic health records, personal health records, health information exchanges, and medical devices. As healthcare systems are increasing in their adoption of health IT, a growing amount of data are being gathered.  In order for the healthcare industry to move towards better care management for patients, preventative care and population health management, there is need for usable clinical information to flow freely across networks and between hospitals and physicians. For this reason, healthcare organizations need interoperability, an efficient and secure means for hospital computer-based systems and applications to communicate and exchange patient data. However, true interoperability is a significant challenge to healthcare organizations for a number of reasons: lack of a common, standard framework that reconciles the differences in data as well as the varying data types; difficulties in product and system compatibility with existing infrastructures within hospitals; and consistent and persistent struggles internally to disclose the appropriate data within a hospital and with partners in their community. The result is health data that cannot be effectively used across the facility or system levels and that disrupts continuity of care at the patient level.

Objectives

National Quality Forum (NQF) will conduct a multistakeholder review of the current issues and barriers to interoperability and identify a set of proposed measure concepts around interoperability. A conceptual framework will be created to analyze, prioritize, and make recommendations for those concepts to be developed into performance measures.

NQF Process

Over a 12-month period of performance, NQF will complete an environmental scan and key informant interviews; and convene an expert, multistakeholder panel to provide input and help guide the creation of a framework to organize the information in a logical and efficient manner. Throughout this project, NQF will solicit input from NQF’s multistakeholder audience, including NQF membership and public stakeholders at key points throughout the project. NQF will produce a final report, which will include core principles and guidance on how to fill current gaps in measurement of interoperability as well as recommendations for future opportunities for work in the interoperability field.

Funding

This project is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.

For information about the availability of auxiliary aids and services for NQF’s federally funded projects, please visit http://www.medicare.gov/about-us/nondiscrimination/nondiscrimination-notice.html.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Poonam Bal at 202-783-1300 or via email at interoperability@qualityforum.org.