Use of application programming interfaces (APIs) based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards are helping break down the barriers between disparate EHRs, radiology platforms and other systems in use by healthcare providers. As healthcare organizations implement new technology and create new content, it is imperative that they leverage accepted standards to foster greater interoperability not only within their organization, but also across the various providers outside the organization that a patient may see.

Improving patient care and safety through interoperability
Beyond simple integration of various IT systems, interoperability plays an important role in enhancing patient care and safety, minimizing medical errors, and improving providers’ productivity and efficiency.


For example, rather than burning CDs with imaging studies and relying on patients to deliver them to their doctors, interoperability makes it much easier to share these results electronically and eliminates the chance that patients will forget or lose this important information. Cloud-based platforms make the process even easier, improving accessibility to patient information from any place, at any time.

Plus, storing images in the cloud is more secure and cost-effective than relying on on-premise servers. On average, hospitals produce 50 petabytes of data every year, and that continues to grow as billions of medical images are saved. In fact, imaging makes up as much as 90% of all healthcare data. Cloud platforms can easily scale to accommodate more – and larger – files as imaging technologies advance to provide more detailed studies.

Easy, centralized access to a patient’s imaging studies via the cloud also can help cut down on duplicative tests and reduce potential medical errors resulting from missing or unavailable information. Use of the cloud enables healthcare providers to better communicate across the continuum of care and remotely access patient records, which is vital to meeting the demand for telehealth services that has been growing since the start of the pandemic.

Steps for achieving full interoperability
Initially created in 2011, the CMS Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program was the first step in establishing requirements for electronic capture of clinical data. More focus was put on interoperability and improving patient access to health information when it was renamed Promoting Interoperability Programs in 2018.

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