4010, Moorpark Avenue, #205, San Jose, California 95117

April18, 2014

Interoperability between disparate components of the healthcare spectrum has largely been limited to big hospitals that had a dire necessity for systems that spoke to each other. However, a quantum shift is taking place in the health IT industry to develop interfaces that facilitate seamless connectivity, exchange and sharing of information. Connecting Laboratories to Electronic Medical Record/ Health Record (EMR/EHR) systems is a critical piece of the interoperability puzzle. In order to navigate this puzzle better, let’s look at some of the challenges faced by EHR vendors in connecting with Labs:

Lack of Standardized Interface

With a variety of EMR’s / EHR’s available in

the market, there are several interface

standards.

Every EMR/EHR has its own standard and

varies depending on the end-user

requirement.

For instance, the HL7 standard does not

remain the same between different

EMR/EHR vendors. This results in complex

connectivity issues when connecting with

Labs.

Lack of Intuitive Intelligence

Most EHR software does not have intuitive

intelligence to detect a lab order and send

an acknowledgement to the ordering

physicians.

Due to this, physicians and lab staff are

forced to manually follow-up on the status

of the lab order and to retrieve the lab

result.

Lack of Troubleshooting Engine

When a lab order is placed from the

EMR/EHR, due to a variety of reasons

format mismatches can happen.

Rigid error-catch engines to troubleshoot

such issues are required to validate and

notify the user.

Mismatch of Codes

When the lab order is placed from the EMR/EHR, it contains the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) codes, ICD codes that describe the patient problem.

These codes need to be mapped with the codes used by the laboratories. If the codes are different, it will result in a mismatch and create interpretation issues.

In addition, the EMR/EHR needs to be up-to-date with the latest collection of medical codes. If not, there are chances for wrong interpretation of the codes at the receiver end.

Complex Connectivity

Every EMR/EHR is designed differently to connect with third parties such as laboratories.

Vendors are required to design separate interfaces individually to connect with each laboratory.

EHR and Labs – Connectivity Challenges

4010, Moorpark Avenue, #205, San Jose, California 95117

What next?

With a huge wave of consolidation happening in the Health IT industry, a lot of interest has been generated around interoperability solutions. The need of the hour is a bi-directional lab interface that can connect any EMR/EHR with any laboratory.

About ViSolve

ViSolve,Inc. is a software services and consulting firm with expertise in Healthcare and Cloud. ViSolve is headquartered at San Jose, CA with best in class Development & Support center in Coimbatore, India.To know more about how ViSolve can enhance your IT capabilities, get in touch with us:

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