The number one barrier to better patient care and how to break through it

What’s the number one problem healthcare executives need to solve in order to improve care delivery and reduce operational costs? In a word: Interoperability.

There’s a lot of buzz these days around the idea of interoperability in healthcare. But what does the term actually mean? Here’s a snippet from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) newly proposed definition:

Interoperability is the ability of different information systems, devices, or applications to connect, in a coordinated manner, within and across organizational boundaries to access, exchange, and cooperatively use data amongst stakeholders, with the goal of optimizing the health of individuals and populations.

For healthcare providers, the ultimate goal of interoperability is to improve patient care. But it promises exceptional financial benefits too.

Interoperability provides healthcare executives with broad visibility into clinical and financial data. Most importantly, it lets them turn that data into actionable intelligence they can use to improve the delivery of care for their patients, while saving money for their institutions.

Healthcare practitioners who can easily access and share data in real time across the organization will be able to make smarter decisions, faster—leading to increased efficiency, lower operational costs, and better care.

What healthcare providers can achieve with interoperability

Providers that achieve interoperability will benefit in countless ways. Here are just some things you can do when you unleash the full power of your data:

  • Better manage your supply chain, improve inventory control, and eliminate waste
  • Increase your savings by improving procurement margins and expediting delivery savings
  • Increase staff efficiency, productivity, and longevity by automating routine tasks and reducing redundant steps, and maintaining valued staff and skillsets
  • Improve patient experiences by adapting to changing needs and behaviors
  • Prepare for mergers and acquisitions by demonstrating exceptional operational efficiency

How Microsoft can help

Within any healthcare organization, numerous systems exist that provide vast amounts of invaluable data. But unless providers can seamlessly connect that data, they won’t be able to achieve the interoperability required to use it effectively.

At Microsoft, we’re changing the healthcare landscape with interoperability. Our Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator solution unifies your data, while enabling systems and applications that help you staff appropriately streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase revenue.

Unlike other healthcare technologies, our integrated, comprehensive platform connects solutions across workloads. You can start with point-and-click apps, then extend the model by configuring additional entities, relationships, and business logic.

Here are four reasons the Microsoft cloud is right for healthcare:

  1. AI and advanced analytics: Use the insights you gain from artificial intelligence and analytics to help you identify patterns and implement improvements in your operational processes and clinical workflows.
  2. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) strategy: Unlock your data with FHIR and securely exchange your data across systems. Microsoft is dedicated to helping improve healthcare through widespread interoperability. We advocate for the adoption of FHIR as a healthcare common standard.
  3. Security: Built with cybersecurity and threat defense, the Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator solution lets you securely connect your data across systems. Microsoft is deeply committed to interoperability in healthcare, and we invest over $1 billion USD annually in security.
  4. Compliance information regulation: Meet your compliance obligations with integrated solutions that help you assess and manage your risk, protect sensitive and business-critical data, and respond efficiently to data discovery requests.

From care delivery to supply chain management, and even retail and point of sale operations, the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator, along with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, helps you achieve the interoperability you need to streamline efficiency and efficacy across your entire organization.

To learn more, download our free eBook, Reimagining healthcare with Microsoft.