Health interoperability is like an inflatable swan
Health interpretability is spoken about in a similar manner to world peace. It’s grand and feel-good, so noone is going to argue against it, but fuzzy enough to avoid a simple definition of success, or a clear plan to prosecute. Somehow reminiscent of the massive, transient inflatables that appear at music festivals; they’re fun to bounce around, but really difficult to get a grasp on.
In reality, many organisations that deliver healthcare are either for-profit businesses, behave like one, or have a funding mechanism to manage. There are work forces to look after, patients to treat, and political interests to manage. Understandably then, interoperability is actually quite far down the list of priorities. I doubt many organisations report on “interoperability” to their boards, or are accountable for it. (Know one that does? We’ve love to hear about it) After all, for something so frequently spoken about, how does one measure interoperability?
It’s hard to imagine someone standing up at the board meeting and exclaiming, “we’re more interoperable today”!
On the other hand, managing revenue, costs or a funding budget are far more tangible, first order, and what executives are routinely held accountable for. Like the giant inflatable swan, grappling with interoperability is difficult, and given its absence on many priority lists, we shouldn’t be surprised at the pace of progress.
This is why we believe that chasing interoperability as a first order goal is a mirage. Organisations that deliver healthcare simply have too many higher priorities. Priorities that new products need to address in order to be successful, before ultimately improving the cost or outcomes of care.
The healthcare sector is also in a period of accelerating change; with growing expectations from payer and patient, declining information asymmetry between patient and practitioner, and an increasing focus on the role of technology.
At Vybrance, we can’t envision a future without lots of software being created and used in healthcare. That future is rich with data, applications and commerce — very little of which exists now. Health may be a laggard, but we expect the same proliferation and stratification of software that has occurred in more progressive sectors. Space is becoming new a platform for commerce, and so is healthcare.
Or one might say, we see health becoming more interoperable. But, that interoperability will be a by-product, a second order effect of addressing the top priorities of healthcare organisations, software vendors and patients.
We are manifesting that rich and interoperable health ecosystem by creating the building blocks developers need now, not by trying to grab the swan. 🦢
