The HIMSS Interoperability Initiatives Environmental Scan provides a curated review of the current landscape of networks, initiatives and frameworks which enable interoperable, nationwide health information exchange. The selected entities were included because of their focus on addressing interoperability needs via a variety of methods and collaborations. Read below to learn more about how to leverage this resource and derive the most value for your organization’s needs.
What the Environmental Scan includes:
The Interoperability Initiatives Environmental Scan is a dynamic, aggregated resource that incorporates pertinent information about key national interoperability initiatives within the United States. It tracks a variety of information for each initiative, including:
- an overview of types of exchange services provided,
- data being exchanged,
- regions covered,
- onboarding requirements,
- business models on participation, and more.
Finally, information about how these entities intersect will help you make informed decisions when researching the national interoperability initiatives available in the market today.
Click through the comparison criteria drop down to review all categories for comparison of these entities.
Intended Audience(s):
The Interoperability Initiatives Environmental Scan is intended for audiences that span the healthcare ecosystem, including:
- Providers and health systems seeking to learn more about interoperability issues and various national exchange efforts.
- Payers and life science professionals seeking to learn about efforts to connect with stakeholders for patient data exchange within the health information exchange (HIE) community.
- Community-based organizations, vendors and consultants seeking to understand the functionality of an HIE and options for communication with their partners and clients.
- App developers seeking to understand points of connection for their products.
- Policy leaders and healthcare executives seeking to gather information for presentations and reports, decision making and improving industry awareness and collaboration.
Value of the Environmental Scan:
The Interoperability Initiatives Environmental Scan illuminates new opportunities for connections beyond traditional siloes, vendor incumbents, healthcare organizations and regional exchanges. Patients, public health entities, app developers, researchers and other stakeholders expand the current scope of interoperability. As a result of this broadening stakeholder landscape, there are new questions, new solutions, and new relationships and industry consortia formed. This expanding ecosystem creates the need for an evolving resource that is current, factual, and curated.
Uses for the Environmental Scan:
The Interoperability Initiatives Environmental Scan is a resource that invites learning, discussion and a community of sharing. It can be used as:
- A dynamic resource to inform, validate or challenge interoperability decision making.
- An unbiased and evolving resource to compare and contrast interoperability networks and platform choices that have been curated by HIMSS thought leaders and staff.
- An educational tool for new stakeholders on the current state of interoperability.
- A guide for understanding how various networks and frameworks are knit together to create an interoperability ecosystem.
- A vehicle to provide comments or engage in discussions about gaps and opportunities in order to inform the broader community via email to: interop@himss.org.
How to use this Scan:
To make the most of this scan:
- Use the left-right scroll bar at the top of the table to scroll through all criteria.
- Use the up-down scroll bar at the right side of the screen to view all organizations.
- Use the “Compare Organizations” filter to compare a select number of interoperability efforts.
- Use the “Select Criteria” filter to limit the number of comparison criteria for review.
- Click on the Organization Name to view all criteria and details for that interoperability effort.
- Click “Download as PDF” as the bottom of an organization’s page to access a PDF version of that entity’s information.
- Click “Download CSV” at the bottom of the screen to access a full version of the scan.