How Reframing the Benefit of Interoperability May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Have we been touting the wrong benefits of interoperability all this time? Instead of just focusing on the benefits for patients, maybe we need to put more attention on the benefits to providers. Perhaps by reframing the benefits we can accelerate interoperability.

Reframing Interoperability Benefits

Interoperability has long been known as a way to improve patient care. When health data can be freely and easily exchanged between providers, doctors can make more informed care decisions, care is faster, waste is reduced, and patient experience is improved.

The impact of interoperability is often framed soley in terms of the benefits to patients and their care. While these are noble and worthy goals, what if we were to reframe the discussion to include benefits to provider organizations and how they can win with interoperable data?

That’s exactly what happened during a recent panel discussion hosted by MEDITECH at #HIMSS25. The session was entitled “From Data to Decisions: Advancing Healthcare with Smart Analytics and Intelligent Interoperability” and featured:

• Steven Lane, MD – Chief Medical Officer at Health Gorilla
• Pakizah Kozak – Chief Information Officer at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
• Eric Carey – Vice President and CIO at Valley Health System
• Mike Cordeiro – Sr Director of Interoperability Market & Product Strategy at MEDITECH

Benefits of Interoperability for Providers

Kozak and Carey both spoke on how their respective organizations have benefitted from having interoperable data available to them in their MEDITECH Expanse EHR. Holland Bloorview analyzes the data within MEDITECH to make informed decisions about how they provide care and what processes they should improve.

This analysis is possible because the data inside MEDITECH is interoperable and therefore easily retrievable and standardized. Kozak and her team at Holland Bloorview collaborate with MEDITECH to incorporate data from different sources including provincial health information as well as lab data into their MEDITECH EHR through the Traverse Exchange solution.

Carey from Valley Health had a similar message about the value of interoperable data to their organization: “For us, interoperability means improving patient and provider experience. Improving both improves outcomes. We use data in MEDITECH to ensure that our workflows are as smooth as possible.”


Interoperable data also benefits researchers at Valley Health.



Data Exchange is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

It was clear from Carey and Kozak that their organizations were bought into the value of accessible data, which is only possible through standardization and normalization – the cornerstones of interoperability.

However, instead of framing the investment in interoperability as solely for the benefit of patients, these two providers found ways to highlight the benefits of interoperable data specifically for their organization.

Maybe if we had more published success stories like theirs, we would be further along in our interoperability efforts as an industry.

Carey summed it up best with this closing statement: “At Valley Health System being able to exchange records with other hospitals is just the tip of the interop iceberg. What MEDITECH allows us to do is partner with any solution provider because our data is ready to go in a standard format and can be exchange easily with whomever we choose to work with. It’s a great position to be in.”

Other Notable Comments

The following are other notable comments captured by Healthcare IT Today at the session.





Learn more about MEDITECH at https://ehr.meditech.com/

Learn more about Health Gorilla at https://www.healthgorilla.com/

Learn more about Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital at https://hollandbloorview.ca/

Learn more about Valley Health System at https://www.valleyhealth.com/