Recently, an interoperability summit was organized to discuss a big technical challenge: how to improve safety and connectivity for the vast array of medical and information technology that exists in the healthcare industry today. It is a concern which most practices, healthcare centers and hospital networks are struggling to handle. The question arises, why interoperability now, when there have been problems with multiple devices running on the same platform and patient data leaks prompting security concerns? There have been a number of discussions on what information technology can do for the healthcare industry, but little attention has been given to the device side of connectivity.

In most cases, the problem does not lie with technology, but with humans and organizational setups. Problems such as uneven leadership, limited cooperation, collaboration, expertise and inconsistent clinical workflows are hampering the use of technology.

Let’s look at how interoperability isaffecting mobile devices.

Standardize to achieve success

If you have standardized and shared goals for interoperability, and are using similar standards and tools all across your practice, you will have a better chance to improve safety, effectiveness and efficiency of the medical technology being used. This will drive better innovation at your practice, and physicians and support staff will benefit a great deal from this.

Align incentives, expectations, roles and responsibilities

Leadership in healthcare delivery organizations and the expertise of system integrators along with proper incentives, all should be focused on patient safety and clinical needs. This will empower healthcare organizations to use interoperable medical technology to improve quality and safety. It will further help decrease costs and risks, and would help lead to better technology offerings.

Drive patient safety with systematic approach to design and implementation

A disciplined and systematic approach in system engineering will enable your practice to better design and manage interoperable medical technology. Managing the process from the beginning to the end will result in improved patient safety and better clinical results.

Focus on human behavior first

You must understand that interoperability is a system which will reduce risk, improve clinical efficacy and optimize the value of medical technology investments. When you understand this concept, you will be able to monitor the behavior of people involved in your practice better and achieve desired results.

Improve regulatory clarity

You must create a clear line of authority at your practice. This will reduce patient risks and improve the development, design, approval process and implementation of interoperable medical technology. Practices suffering from uneven authority lines are always facing issues while implementing mobile device interoperability.

Streamline clinical workflow to improve ROI

A standardized, coordinated and comprehensive clinical workflow will largely improve clinical efficiency and effectiveness of processes related to patient care. It will also make it possible to scale medical technology, leading to better and improved Return on Investment.

Remove barriers with shared learning

If you have transparent methods for measuring success and failures and make better use of data from robust, interoperable medical technology, it will create a knowledge base which will ultimately be used to improve your practice workflows and patient care.

Although there are still many challenges practices are facing while implementing mobile device interoperability, the benefits of using it outweigh these challenges. There is still a long way to go before systems are made completely interoperable, but it will certainly create a new way in which the healthcare industry serves patients.