I have a physician colleague who sums it up well by referring to this as the Five Rights of Interoperability:

1. The Right Data in

2. The Right Amount to

3. The Right Person at

4. The Right Time to drive

5. The Right Action

That seems like a good start in the pursuit of Healthcare IT “Nirvana.”

Q: Many healthcare organizations across the U.S. are transitioning to become Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), or entering into an accountable care model. How will these organizations need to evolve their IT infrastructures to provide the connectivity and access needed to support this transition?

A: It seems like one of those questions on a multiple-choice test best answered by “e) all of the above,” since what we discussed earlier all applies. It is clear that no single application or vendor can meet all of an ACO’s needs for managing risk, insurance payments, provider networks, informatics, care coordination and more. It requires a platform approach that both delivers solutions and enables solutions.

Intrinsically, ACOs and other similarly purposed entities are seeking to identify and manage clinical and economic risk, then close the gaps on that risk. The key competencies to closing these gaps are the ability to manage the health of a population and to coordinate the delivery of care. Like high-performing organizations in other industries, healthcare providers will have a heightened focus on quality measurement and continuous improvement. The right healthcare technology platform is a cornerstone.

For many, managing the health of populations is a marked shift in mindset, but there are progressive organizations that have embraced and extended their health information technology assets to address some of the riskiest populations. For example, North Shore-LIJ, a large and leading health system in Long Island, NY, is interested in managing its population of patients they serve, including those at high risk. They identified a clear need to improve the clinical, satisfaction, and economic outcomes for high-risk obstetric patients. To do this, North Shore-LIJ needed to connect more than 100 providers who use three different outpatient EHR implementations, two different inpatient EHRs and two prenatal imaging centers with their own ultrasound reporting systems.

When a high-risk expectant mother is admitted to an emergency room, the system automatically notifies her obstetrician and primary care doctor, while providing the emergency room physicians with instant access to her aggregated medical history. If lab results indicate a problem for mother or baby, the admitting physician will receive an alert. North Shore-LIJ created the interoperable foundation and tools to automatically detect and notify providers of gaps in care or clinical changes even when the patient is not present.

By identifying a high-risk population and enabling the coordination of care, the community surrounding that patient shares complete and up-to-date information, increasing safety and satisfaction for all concerned.

What is strategic interoperability & why do you need it?
Strategic interoperability enables you to aggregate, normalize, and integrate data about every patient, from every care setting, so that clinicians and administrators can make decisions based on complete records and insight from real-time analytics.

Be sure to visit the InterSystems booth at HIMSS14, Booth 2741, Hall B to see presentations from North Shore-LIJ, RICOH, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Dr. Mark Blatt from Intel and more. You’ll also have the opportunity to bring your questions and comments to a variety of educational and networking events supported by InterSystems. Visit www.InterSystems.com/HIMSS14 for more information.

About InterSystems: InterSystems is a global leader in software for connected care, with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and offices in 25 countries. InterSystems HealthShare® is a health informatics platform that enables strategic interoperability and analytics for action across a hospital network, community, region or nation. InterSystems’ products are used by thousands of hospitals and laboratories worldwide, including all of the top 15 hospitals on the Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals as rated by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, visit InterSystems.com.