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Why does it work? Because everyone has
agreed upon a standard; in the case of the USB, leading computer and
electronic industry companies came together to agree on a single
standardized interface socket. Why don’t we have plug and play in health care? In health care, the
ability to connect devices and systems to exchange data in a
standardized way is called “interoperability.” It has taken a long time
to come because of the lack of standards, and frankly, the lack of
market demand. But now we do have standards in place that specify how
data (including images) can be exchanged, stored and displayed across
systems. Standards are the building blocks of health IT, invisible to
the users but critical for the sharing of data with others.
Why is interoperability important? On a national level,
interoperability is critical to connect systems and make patient records
available wherever needed. In an individual office, it will allow you to
access the right image and refractive measurements for the patient and
view their medical chart at the same time.
What are the benefits of interoperability? For the ophthalmologist
and their office, benefits include connecting devices and IT systems and
not losing data. You can purchase equipment and not worry if it is
compatible with your existing devices. For companies, the benefits are
meeting the marketplace demand and federal criteria for purchasing
health IT and reducing the resources needed to write proprietary
interfaces for every system. How does interoperability work in eye
care? A group of users (ophthalmologists, office staff) and vendors have
agreed on a detailed communication protocol to permit the exchange of
data. This has been done under the umbrella of an international,
medicine-wide organization, Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).
Come see a demo at the Academy Annual Meeting from registration to
billing using electronic workflow. For more information, visit
www.iheeyecare.org.
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