Outlook from HIMSS '15: Who's Leading the Way Toward Interoperability? (Blog)

The barrier for entry into interoperability is too high right now for providers. If a health system owns 100 physician practices, for example, and each of those practices requires a $10,000 installation for an interoperability interface, that's a $1 million cost just to start opening the data.

Both providers and vendors can work toward a better system. With the CommonWell Health Alliance, players like Cerner, athenahealth and McKesson have all agreed to make CommonWell services available for free to providers. Providers too can use their leverage to move the industry along by including interoperability in their RFP processes, working with vendors on total cost of ownership, and negotiating with vendors on items like interface fees.

Government is also part of the solution. As the largest payer for healthcare services, it can and should make payment incentives. It also can pull the lever on regulatory tools: The Office for the National Coordinator should be setting a high bar for interoperability and a timeframe in which it should be delivered. Allowing the providers and developers to manage the roadmap, however, is key to getting the right outcome.

I'm a big believer in if you don't lead, you're accepting the status quo. We can lead our way out of the state we're in now by forming together with other like-minded providers, vendors and healthcare organizations to keep pushing toward more transparency and better interoperability.

Arien Malec has spent over 20 years in healthcare and life sciences. In his current role as Vice President for the Data Platform Solution Line for RelayHealth, he addresses improved care, improved health, and cost containment through the use of clinical data. Prior to that, he had an 18-month stint at the Office of the National Coordinator, as Coordinator for the Direct Project and the Standards and Interoperability Framework.