KLAS publishes inaugural interoperability study

Study highlights current state of the market and how vendors are performing

Healthcare providers strongly encourage better coordination among vendors, timely location of patient records and greatly improved parsing capabilities as three of the most needed improvements for interoperability of electronic medical records. These findings and others are found in a special study, “Interoperability 2015: Are We Lifting Together?” published today by KLAS.

This study highlights how provider organizations rate their EMR vendors in terms of how proactive and effective they are in sharing patient data outside their organization. Study participants tag athenahealth as the easiest to connect to, followed by Cerner and Epic. Epic’s Care Everywhere customers are interconnected, enjoying the immediate benefits of exchanging patient data nationally. Other vendors with similar interconnectivity capabilities and offerings have not yet seen the widespread adoption and appreciation that Epic has In addition to listing the vendors easiest to connect with, participants note those that are the most difficult.

KLAS interviewed more than 200 healthcare professionals during a three-month period for this study. All participants identified barriers to interoperability. However, neither providers nor vendors mentioned technology as a missing ingredient, stating instead that lack of agreement on the use of standards and willingness to share information are more likely causes.  

“We are shining a light on how both providers and vendors are committed to solving interoperability problems and proactively taking opportunities to improve healthcare,” said KLAS founder, Kent Gale. “Having connectivity that allows information to be exchanged easily and without disruption is vital to the patient’s care. We must enjoy that level of sharing as soon as possible. It’s time to make that happen through industry collaboration around a unified goal.”

In addition, the report identifies key areas and questions that, if addressed, could accelerate interoperability

        1. Is interoperability success tied to service?
        2. Perception is not always reality.
        3. Where does information sharing break down?
        4. FHIR is hot—why are Carequality and CommonWell not?
        5. Are there dollar differences in sharing?
        6. Does interoperability impact EMR buying decisions?

About KLAS
KLAS is a research and insights firm on a global mission to improve healthcare delivery by amplifying the provider's voice. Working with thousands of healthcare professionals and clinicians, KLAS gathers data and insights on software, services and medical equipment to deliver timely reports, trends and statistical overviews. The research directly represents the provider voice and acts as a catalyst for improving vendor performance. Follow KLAS on Twitter.