When Data Standards Fail to Standardize Exchange: A Close Look at the Unique Challenges in Today’s Healthcare Data Standards

Configuration

The frequency of health system-specific configuration of HL7 standards presents interesting challenges to application developers. Each health system will have implemented a customized set of specifications, and vendors seeking to work with those health systems traditionally need to adhere to each custom setup.

What can be done when thinking outside the box?

If the process sounds ripe with potential for complications and costly software updates, it is. Both health systems and healthcare technology vendors have to manage this complexity in order to stay current (or current enough) and to fluidly exchange data between health systems and healthcare technology solutions.

If this process continues to be followed, a new or updated standard isn’t going to address the root issues that plague healthcare data exchange.  The industry as a whole needs to put an emphasis on true consistency that’s based on practicality.  Accommodating for obscure or infrequent use cases tends to overcomplicate the needs for the vast majority of data exchange. A standard should be straightforward and change-resistant to reduce the number of downstream breaks that impact the users and patients that are relying on that data.

Data exchange methods should be designed based on the entity that needs the information.  Right now, when and how you get data is dictated by the sending system which means that software vendors need to be able to push, pull, and query – whether or not it makes sense for their workflow. In some cases, not having this flexibility, means that there is more data that ends up being sent and stored externally because the application’s only way to receive data is to receive everything and then pick through what they need instead of being able to request only what’s necessary.

While the industry grapples with how to create a standard that provides more stable data exchange than the current ones, there are solutions out there today that software vendors can leverage to reduce the pain. We created Redox as an option for software vendors to receive normalized, consistent data now instead of having to wait for healthcare organizations, EHR vendors, and HL7 International to come to a consensus on how to accomplish this. Looking ahead, it is my hope that more healthcare organizations and vendors will prioritize streamlining their processes and dedicate themselves to creating seamless and efficient ways to connect with one another. It’s time for healthcare data exchange to catch up with the modern world of ever changing technology.