Healthcare is one of the biggest boons to humankind. There have been lots of success and numbers to define them, but most importantly, lots of personal stories behind these numbers. Every individual has a different story and a takeaway.

Humans beings possess the ability to observe and learn from experience. Advanced technologies of the twenty-first century such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can learn from the past tasks on a day-to-day basis through constant learning. It is the ability to learn with ‘data’ that separates ML, which forms a part of AI, from ordinary machines. ML is so applicable today that we are using it for basic operations such as online retail or travel.

Healthcare has become a major concern for everyone. No one has found the ideal solution, but the hunt is on. The problem in healthcare has grown bigger and bigger with time;  warranting for a universal solution that can bring an overhaul.

Interoperability- this is one term that people all over healthcare talk about- but the buzz around this word has defeated its initial purpose. While at HIMSS18, I was wondering if which- time or quality- in care held the most meaning? What was more achievable? What should be the focus?

The US healthcare system is dealing with a peculiar phenomenon. The providers face tough challenges in delivering quality care due to the ever-increasing administrative workload. Besides, with the growing calls for value-based incentives and risk-based contracting, even the minutest of patient details are now noted as care teams work on new strategies to enhance the overall care experience. The data is increasing in heaps and bounds and documenting patient details through legacy systems has become an overwhelming task. There is simply too much of information available to manage easily!  

Consider a situation where healthcare is not just an industry term- a situation where EHRs are not an integral part of physicians schedule but just a support to providing care. All considered, imagine a situation where patient-centric care actually involves the patient, and patient engagement is not just a buzzword but a reality. Unfortunately, all these imaginations were supposed to be a reality, but still, healthcare managers and organizations are struggling with the problems such as the lack of patients’ adherence to medication, varying trends in the population health, and a lot more. Patient population, nowadays, expect the same on-demand delivery convenience from the healthcare organizations as they get from the other companies like Netflix.

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2018 impressively pulled over 43,000 attendees to the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on the first day of their annual conference. Adding to the continued agenda of improving interoperability and the evolution of patient-centric care, AI and machine learning too dominated discussion and session topics.

Undoubtedly, the healthcare data is increasing at an unprecedented rate, but this change is diverse and complex. Healthcare providers, irrespective of their vast struggles and investments, are still not able to identify the true nature of their data. The first step in harnessing the true power of data requires us to think and firstly identify what we’re looking at- not the solutions but the questions first.

Healthcare is one of the largest sectors in the U.S. and has evolved in many ways, with healthcare data rising to become its deep-rooted member. With the quickly evolving technologies, this data will not be constrained by the boundaries of merely clinical and claims data. Even today, despite the evolved technical proficiency, the healthcare organizations are struggling against data irregularities, missing data, legacy systems, and whatnot. Imagine the chaos when these data boundaries will be broken in the future!

With an increased focus on Triple Aim, a healthcare overhaul is in process. An aggressive expansion of data is taking place, but the focus still lies majorly on integrating inpatient data. While inpatient data has served as the primary source for patient information, ambulatory visits make up for 41 out of 100 visits to the care facilities. Integrating the two facets is thus essential to get a better understanding of measures such as wellness and prevention, diagnosis, treatments among others.