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Why Interoperability Is Hard

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Principles of Health Interoperability

Part of the book series: Health Information Technology Standards ((HITS))

Abstract

This chapter explores some of the reasons why healthcare interoperability is hard and why standards are needed. Interoperability can be looked at as layers (technology, data, human and institutional) involving different types of interoperability, technical, semantic, process and clinical. Standards are needed to tame the combinatorial explosion of the number of links required to join up systems, but usually require translation to and from an interchange language. Users and vendors are not always incentivized to interoperate. Apparently simple things such as addresses are more complex than they appear. Clinical information in EHRs is inherently complex, but complexity and ambiguity in specifications creates errors. Any interoperability project involves change management which introduces a social dimension.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    op cit page 11.

  2. 2.

    Anthony J. Personal Communication 2008.

  3. 3.

    The current version is: ISO 13606 -1:2019 Health informatics—Electronic health record communication —Part 1: Reference model .

  4. 4.

    The ISO Workshop on address standards: Considering the issues related to an international address standard, Copenhagen 2008 provides more details. https://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/ISO/I080525H.pdf

  5. 5.

    https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp2gp

  6. 6.

    https://digital.nhs.uk/services/diagnostics-data-service/primary-care-pathology-report-messaging

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. R-Outcomes Ltd, Newbury, UK

    Tim Benson

  2. Health Intersections Pty Ltd, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Grahame Grieve

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  1. Tim Benson
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  2. Grahame Grieve
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Correspondence to Tim Benson .

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Benson, T., Grieve, G. (2021). Why Interoperability Is Hard. In: Principles of Health Interoperability. Health Information Technology Standards. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56883-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56883-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56882-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56883-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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