HIMSS24 is the perfect place to see the full spectrum of healthcare information technologies. It's also the perfect place to realize there must be a way for all these technologies to play together.

Interoperability is a hot topic at this year's conference taking place this week in Orlando – and a key to the future of health IT. HIMSS24 offers the Interoperability Pavilion for attendees to see the latest in interoperable technologies.

Rauland is a vendor of advanced clinical communications and workflow systems for hospitals and health systems. Through combined hardware, software and analytics, its systems power hospital rooms.

In the Interoperability Pavilion Booth 3760-77, Rauland, with Epic, Midmark, Mobile Heartbeat, pCare and Stryker, will demonstrate how integrating hospital systems, including nurse call, brings connected care directly into the patient room, optimizing care and minimizing fall risks within hospitals, the company said.

We interviewed Michelle Allen, division vice president and business unit manager at Rauland, to discuss interoperability trends and the demonstration in the Interoperability Pavilion.

Q. What are the trends in interoperability you're discussing with HIMSS24 attendees?

A. Interoperability has long been a hot issue, with the goal to have different systems share data in a way that improves care team efficiency and effectiveness. The interoperability trends we see extend this, combining hardware and software to streamline real-time communication and care team workflows and enabling business intelligence offerings with additional data elements.

We are seeing mainstay hospital elements, such as nurse call systems, act as a foundation for interoperability that allows clinicians to efficiently provide patient care and prioritize tasks for their patient using role-based workflow profiles. We've found this data sharing is closing communication gaps, preventing healthcare-associated infections and reducing fall rates.

New healthcare trends, like virtual nursing, demand new system integrations and the expansion of standards to include things like video and patient-provided devices, such as phones.

Q. Please discuss what Rauland, Epic, Midmark, Mobile Heartbeat, pCare and Stryker are doing together in the HIMSS24 Interoperability Pavilion.

A. We're demonstrating how fostering seamless communication between Rauland's Responder Enterprise system and trusted vendor partners, such as Stryker beds, Midmark Real-Time Location System sensors, Epic EHR, Mobile Heartbeat mobile communications and pCare virtual nursing, creates a comprehensive network, preventing patient falls.

This integration enables real-time data sharing and coordination among various healthcare devices and platforms, fostering a more responsive and proactive care environment.

Along with our partners, we are minimizing fall risks through seamless communication, including time-critical messaging to staff. This is enhancing hospital efficiency and improving patient outcomes and satisfaction without adding to the growing problem of alarm fatigue by targeting the communication to a specific care team for the patient and enabling escalation logic only when response time is not adequate.

Q. What role does interoperability play in improving patient outcomes and trimming healthcare costs?

A. At least one in 10 patients is affected by an adverse event, such as falls, leading to injuries and poor outcomes. An analysis of available data indicates around 50% of adverse events were found to be preventable.

Interoperability with nurse call systems enhances communication, coordination and access to patient information, resulting in timely interventions, personalized care and proactive monitoring – all of which contribute to improved patient outcomes and enhanced overall quality of care.

Interoperability in nurse call systems plays a pivotal role in enhancing patient care. This swift exchange of data allows for quicker response times and tailored interventions, reducing the likelihood of patient falls.

Rauland is in more than 50% of U.S. hospitals and more than a million acute care beds worldwide and is committed to supporting an open, cohesive ecosystem that fosters a holistic approach to patient safety. Seamless communication helps clinicians and interdisciplinary teams boost patient safety, staff satisfaction, and hospital and response efficiency.​

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