How to Improve Interoperability in Healthcare

Healthcare systems are traditionally fragmented. Patient health information must travel from one provider to another, across different systems, and be interpreted correctly by the receiver. All of these steps emphasize the importance of establishing interoperability within your healthcare organization. 

Improving interoperability in healthcare is critical to protect patient safety, improve operational efficiency, and remain compliant with evolving regulations. 

In this article, we’ll explore six ways to improve interoperability in healthcare. These strategies include: 

1. Adopt and Align with Interoperability Standards
2. Implement a Unified Clinical Communication Platform
3. Foster Vendor Collaboration and Open APIs
4. Strengthen Governance and Data Policies
5. Invest in Change Management and Training
6. Leverage Analytics to Monitor and Improve

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Why Improving Interoperability Matters

Interoperability in healthcare is critical for patient safety, clinical decision making, and operational efficiency. Interoperable systems ensure information is not only accessible and available, but can also be standardized and understood by the receiving system or provider. 

Healthcare interoperability can only be achieved when all four levels of interoperability are met. While foundational interoperability is often the easiest level to achieve, many organizations struggle to move beyond that. 

In 2023, only 43% of hospitals routinely engaged in all four levels of interoperable exchange. While this figure is an increase from 28% in 2018, there’s still room for improvement among healthcare providers. 

Improving interoperability in healthcare involves making the necessary adjustments to your clinical communication systems and processes to meet each level of interoperability. Achieving complete interoperability is critical for reducing medical errors, enabling value-based care, and improving clinical workflows. 

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6 Ways to Improve Interoperability in Healthcare

Interoperability remains one of healthcare's most pressing challenges. When systems can't communicate effectively, patient care is impacted by fragmented information which can cause delayed treatments, duplicated tests, and even medical errors. 

Below are six strategies to improve healthcare interoperability for healthcare organizations seeking to break down data silos and create connected care environments.

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1. Adopt and align with interoperability standards

The first step in improving interoperability is to align with interoperability standards. Modern interoperability frameworks like HL7 and FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) set the standard for healthcare data exchange. 

Unlike legacy standards, FHIR uses web-based technologies and RESTful APIs – a common API style that follows Representational State Transfer guidelines – that align with how modern software systems communicate. This makes implementation more straightforward and reduces the technical barriers that have historically plagued healthcare IT integration.

By adopting and aligning with these standards, organizations create a common language that enables disparate systems – EHRs, lab systems, and communication tools – to exchange information seamlessly and accurately. The key is not just adoption, but alignment across all systems and departments to ensure consistency in how data is structured, labeled, and transmitted.

Healthcare organizations should prioritize FHIR-compliant solutions when evaluating new technologies and work with existing vendors to adopt these standards where possible.

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2. Implement a unified clinical communication platform

Clinical communication has traditionally been fragmented across paging systems, scheduling tools, personal phones, secure and non-secure messaging apps, and email. This creates communication gaps and puts critical information at risk of being lost or delayed. 

A unified clinical communication platform addresses this challenge by consolidating communication channels while maintaining interoperability with existing hospital systems. Platforms like Hypercare exemplify this approach by bridging traditional silos. The clinical communication platform integrates secure messaging, scheduling, code activations, and on-call management into a single interface that connects with EHRs, nurse call systems, and other clinical tools. This integration transforms static data into actionable information in real time.

The interoperability advantages are significant. For example, when a code is activated, Hypercare instantly alerts the appropriate response team with STAT messages. 

Unified platforms also establish secure, compliant channels for sensitive health information. Platforms like Hypercare provide audit trails that demonstrate who accessed what information and when, which is essential for both patient privacy and regulatory compliance. By breaking down communication silos, these platforms ensure that the right information reaches the right clinician at the right time, regardless of which system generated that information.

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3. Foster vendor collaboration and open APIs

To achieve true interoperability, healthcare organizations must become actively involved in the process of selecting vendors and setting up interoperable systems. This means pushing vendors to support open standards through an open API framework and evaluating platforms based on their willingness to integrate with the broader ecosystem.

Open APIs are the technical foundation of this approach. They provide standardized methods for different systems to connect and exchange data without requiring custom, one-off integrations for each connection. When vendors support open APIs based on industry standards, they enable a more "plug and play" ecosystem where new tools can be integrated with existing hospital systems more quickly and cost-effectively.

During vendor selection processes, organizations should explicitly evaluate interoperability capabilities. Questions to ask include: 

• Does the platform support FHIR APIs? 
• Can it integrate with our existing information systems? 
• What data can be exchanged bidirectionally? 
• Are there any technical barriers to integration? 

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4. Strengthen governance and data policies

Technology alone cannot ensure successful interoperability. Organizations need robust governance frameworks that establish clear policies for data management, exchange, and stewardship.

Effective governance begins with defining data ownership, access controls, and quality standards. Who is responsible for ensuring data accuracy? Under what circumstances can data be shared externally? How should conflicts between different data sources be resolved? These questions require policy answers, not just technical solutions.

Data governance policies should address the entire lifecycle of health information. They should establish standards for data quality, including requirements for completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. They must also define roles and responsibilities, ensuring that someone is accountable when interoperability issues arise.

Privacy and security policies are also critical in an interoperable environment. When data flows more freely between systems, organizations must ensure that appropriate safeguards protect patient information. This includes not only technical controls like encryption and access logging, but also policies governing who can access what data and under what circumstances.

Regular governance reviews help ensure that policies evolve alongside technology. As new systems are implemented or new use cases emerge, governance frameworks should be updated to address these changes while maintaining consistency in how data is managed across the organization.

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5. Invest in change management and training

The most sophisticated interoperable systems can still fail without clinical adoption. Healthcare leaders must invest in comprehensive change management and training programs that help clinicians understand not just how to use new tools, but why interoperable workflows benefit them and their patients.

Effective change management aligns people, processes, and technology. Engage stakeholders early in the planning process to understand their workflows, pain points, and concerns. Training should go beyond basic system functionality to demonstrate the clinical value of interoperability. For example, show physicians how unified communication reduces pages and interruptions, and demonstrate to nurses how integrated systems eliminate duplicate data entry. When clinicians understand the "why" behind new workflows, they become advocates rather than obstacles.

Change management is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. As workflows evolve and new features become available, organizations need systems to communicate changes, gather feedback, and refine processes. 

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6. Leverage analytics to monitor and improve

Interoperability initiatives generate vast amounts of data about how information flows through healthcare organizations. This data is a valuable asset for identifying bottlenecks, measuring improvements, and optimizing workflows.

Consider clinical communication platforms with built-in analytics. These platforms can help clinical teams track and measure KPIs that reveal the effectiveness of interoperability efforts, including: 

• The time it takes for lab results to reach the ordering physician 
• The number of errors that occur during handoffs 
• The frequency of communication delays that create bottlenecks 

Response time analytics are particularly valuable. By tracking how long it takes for messages to be delivered, read, and acted upon, organizations can identify patterns that indicate system or workflow problems. 

For example, if messages to a particular department consistently take longer to receive responses, that can signal a need for process improvement or additional training.

Workflow analytics help organizations understand how clinicians actually use interoperable systems versus how designers intended them to be used. These insights can reveal opportunities to streamline processes, eliminate unnecessary steps, or provide additional integration points that would improve efficiency.

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Best Practices for Sustained Interoperability Improvement

Addressing interoperability obstacles is just the first step. To maintain progress, follow these best practices for sustained interoperability. 

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1. Prioritize patient-centered design

Patient-centered design means considering how patient outcomes are impacted at every decision point. Questions to ask when setting up clinical workflow technology include: 

• Will this data exchange help prevent medical or communication errors?
• Does this integration lead to more timely care or decrease idle time? 
• Does this workflow improvement give clinicians more time with patients? 

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2. Streamline clinical notifications 

Clinical workflows should be designed to minimize disruption while maximizing information availability. Alerts and notifications should be meaningful and actionable – too many non-specific alerts only adds to communication fatigue. 

The goal is to make interoperability invisible to clinicians – they have the information they need, when they need it, without thinking about which system it came from. This seamless flow of information allows clinicians to focus on patient care. 

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3. Build for scalability

Interoperability solutions must be able to grow with your organization – across facilities, departments, and care networks.

Cloud-based platforms offer flexibility that older, on-premise systems simply can't provide. With modern cloud architecture, organizations can easily add more users, connect new systems, and expand to additional locations without having to rebuild everything from scratch. When evaluating interoperability solutions, organizations should consider how the platform handles growth scenarios.

Interoperability becomes more powerful as more people use it. For example, when a communication platform connects just one department, it helps that department. But when it connects entire hospitals and health systems, care coordination can flow seamlessly across organizational boundaries. 

When data exchange standards work not just within your facility but across regional health networks, clinicians can see the complete picture of patient care no matter where it happened. Planning for this network growth from the beginning ensures your interoperability investments pay bigger dividends as they expand.

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4. Continuous review and benchmarking

Maintaining effective interoperability requires an ongoing commitment to review, measure, and improve existing systems. 

Conduct regular audits that assess both technical performance and clinical effectiveness. Technical audits should examine system uptime, data exchange success rates, integration latency, and error rates. Clinical audits evaluate whether interoperability is achieving its intended goals, whether that’s improving real-time communication, reducing response times, or improving handoffs.

Staying current with evolving standards is also critical. As FHIR versions advance, new implementation guides emerge, and regulatory requirements change, organizations must update their systems to maintain compliance and incorporate new capabilities. This requires dedicated resources who can monitor industry developments and translate them into actionable plans for the organization.

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Real-World Examples of Healthcare Interoperability Improvement

As interoperability is a complex topic, it can be challenging to understand how exactly it improves clinical workflows. 

Below are a few real examples of how hospitals use Hypercare to improve interoperability and effectively reduce code activation time, replace pagers and switchboards, and integrate on-call scheduling and secure messaging. 

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Faster Surgical Team Activation

Mile Bluff Medical Center, a 40-bed acute care hospital in rural Wisconsin, saw the need for improved interoperability as its clinical operations evolved and scaled. The hospital operates with lean teams – clinicians wear multiple hats, providing care across departments, shifts, and locations. 

However, its communication systems were fragmented. On-call schedules weren’t easily accessible, clinicians didn’t have a secure messaging channel, and coordination relied on manual calls to the switchboard. These communication gaps made it difficult for clinicians to respond quickly to urgent scenarios like emergency C-sections and unplanned endoscopies.

After implementing Hypercare’s clinical communication platform, all providers at Mile Bluff had access to real-time scheduling, messaging, and surgical activation workflows across the organization. As a result, code activation time dropped from 20-30 minutes to five seconds.

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Pager and Switchboard Replacement

Health Sciences North (HSN), a tertiary care academic hospital and referral center for Northeastern Ontario was experiencing connection issues with its legacy paging system. It also used a fragmented on-call scheduling system that required every department to send their schedules to the switchboard every week, leading to duplicate work and transcription errors. 

Prior to Hypercare, there was no standardized method of communication between staff. This resulted in a lot of phone tag, frustration, and inefficiencies in staff communication. 

To address these interoperability issues, HSN partnered with Hypercare to replace hundreds of legacy pagers. Within one month of deploying the unified clinical communication platform, 70% of eligible users adopted the system, over 45,000 secure messages were exchanged, and 46 on-call schedules were consolidated. Within one year, call volumes flowing through the switchboard department dropped by approximately 50% despite growing patient care needs.

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Integrated Scheduling and Messaging

Before implementing Hypercare, Sault Area Hospital (SAH) operated with an antiquated physician scheduling system that lacked key interoperability functions such as real-time updates or synchronization capabilities. This created significant challenges for physicians attempting to identify on-call providers, creating obstacles to effective communication and collaborative care delivery.

To address these interoperability gaps, SAH implemented Hypercare's integrated platform, which encompasses physician scheduling, secure messaging, and dynamic directory services. Hyperare quickly became the preferred communication channel among physicians – particularly for consultations – as its HIPAA-compliant messaging functionality enables asynchronous sharing of diagnostic images and laboratory data directly within clinical conversations.

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Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Interoperability ensures clinicians have complete, accurate information at the point of care. Improving interoperability has measurable benefits – from protecting patient safety to reducing administrative burden to enabling seamless care coordination. 

However, it’s not a single technology or standard. Healthcare interoperability is a comprehensive approach that spans technical infrastructure, standardized vocabularies, governance frameworks, and organizational culture. 

To recap, healthcare organizations can follow these strategies to improve interoperability: 

1. Adopt and Align with Interoperability Standards
2. Implement a Unified Clinical Communication Platform
3. Foster Vendor Collaboration and Open APIs
4. Strengthen Governance and Data Policies
5. Invest in Change Management and Training
6. Leverage Analytics to Monitor and Improve

By using an interoperable solution like Hypercare, organizations can benefit from built-in clinical communications, compliance, and analytics that help support interoperability. Explore Hypercare’s unified clinical communication platform by booking a demo below.