Interoperability Key Concern among Health Information Exchanges

Interoperability among health information exchanges is the most pressing concern among respondents to a recent survey from eHealth Initiative, with some organizations indicating they needed to achieve interoperability among 25 or more different systems. Of the 199 survey respondents, 142 identified interoperability as a “challenge,” an increase of 10 respondents from a similar survey conducted in 2011. The technical work needed to achieve interoperability is time-consuming and expensive, and 124 respondents stated that they would benefit from standardized pricing from various vendors to make the efforts more predictable and achievable.