Rules of the Road: Mapping interoperability regulations with structured healthcare data

Since 2001 the United States government has assembled many regulatory groups and signed multiple acts towards the lofty goal of Interoperability and real-time availability of patient information across multiple clinical and payer platforms. From the HIE and the Nationwide Health Information Network in 2001 to the 21st Century Cures Act and most recently TEFCA, the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement – the government has consistently sought to enable healthcare and technology to develop the tools and processes necessary to make this dream of shared patient data and improved outcomes a reality.

While great strides have been taken to improve the collection and sharing of patient information and shine a bright light on the challenges to overcome, even after 20 years, the industry still cannot claim they have cracked the multi-layered nut known as healthcare data interoperability.

While most providers are engaging in electronic information exchange today, many are doing so with outdated manual workflows and/or custom-built technology tools with limited functionality and security vulnerabilities. Adopting an interoperability solution enables organizations to automate both the pre-population of patient records and the establishment of connections to various data exchange networks. This allows for streamlined exchange workflows that improve decision-making at the point of care while supporting initiatives to improve care coordination, close care gaps, and reduce workforce stress caused by an overabundance of manual paperwork. Research has proven that administrative burden separates clinicians from their patients and the time they are able to actually provide care.

Today, interoperability solutions are available that take us closer to solving this problem. Tech organizations like Consensus offer an NLP/AI solution that takes us closer to solving an important part of the puzzle. Consensus Clarity turns unstructured data into structured data to enable faster referrals, better communication, and enhanced insights. While no one company or solution has been able to solve interoperability in its entirety, healthcare tech companies like Consensus are making great strides by offering solutions that can get us closer to that ambitious goal.

About Consensus Cloud Solutions: Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCSI) has been a global leader of digital cloud fax technology for over 25 years. The company leverages its technology heritage to provide secure solutions that transform simple digital documents into advanced healthcare standard HL7 FHIR for secure data exchange. Consensus offers eFax, a global leader in online faxing, Consensus Unite and Consensus Harmony interoperability solutions, Consensus Signal for secure automatic real-time healthcare communications, Consensus Clarity, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) / Artificial Intelligence solution, and jSign for electronic digital signatures. For more information about Consensus, visit consensus.com. Follow us on Twitter @ConsensusCS.