A report from analytics consultant Frost & Sullivan reflects that the adoption of an interoperable health IT structure is not uniform around the world.
"More than 50% of health care providers do not have a health care IT roadmap, although they acknowledge the role of digital health in enhancing health care efficiency," Shruthi Parakkal, Frost & Sullivan Healthcare Research Analyst said. "Consequently, even the existing interoperability standards such as HL7, DICOM and Direct Project are not being utilized optimally by many providers."
Here are nine key findings analysts included in the report.
1. Wellness and proactive care are gaining importance. Connected healthcare infrastructure will be the binding force that will enable collaboration in the healthcare sector.
2. The adoption of connected healthcare infrastructure is not uniform across the globe, owing to the lack of a holistic digital healthcare strategy that focuses on integrated care models and failure to utilize established standards in connectivity and interoperability.
3. There are several established interoperability standards such as HL7, DICOM and Direct Project, and clinical terminologies such as ICD and SNOMED-CT that enable recording and exchange of healthcare information.
4. Alliances and gateways involving several market participants, with the objective of using interoperability to share information between devices and healthcare IT solutions from different vendors, are elevating the maturity level of medical device connectivity.
5. Technological advances in WiFi, Bluetooth and RFID are adding momentum to the drive for healthcare connectivity and interoperability.
6. Hospitals have a need to connect devices and healthcare IT solutions for centralized monitoring and real-time data analysis; however, they find it challenging to manage the reviews required for updating the workflows and have cost constraints.
7. Several medical device manufacturers are offering connectivity functionality. However, these gateways are mostly proprietary and closed.
8. Manufacturers of vendor-neutral and open medical connectivity solutions are in demand, as they offer integration of devices from different original equipment manufacturers.
9. Increased focus on healthcare interoperability in FDA guidelines and the EU eHealth action plan is expected to have a positive impact on the market landscape for healthcare and medical device interoperability and connectivity.