Interoperability Made Easy: Why Organizations Choose AERIS for Data Sharing

February 14, 2025

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In the age of information, data sharing and interoperability in healthcare are no longer just buzzwords. They are necessary for providing seamless, coordinated, and efficient care. AERIS, a leading adaptive exchange interoperability platform, has become the go-to solution for healthcare organizations looking to simplify data sharing. With support for various data standards, AERIS addresses the challenges of interoperability in healthcare.

In this blog, we’ll discuss how AERIS helps organizations achieve effective data sharing and why it stands out.

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The Importance of Interoperability in Healthcare

Healthcare systems generate vast amounts of data daily, ranging from patient records and imaging results to lab reports and treatment plans. However, this data often resides in silos across different systems and formats. However, interoperability in healthcare bridges these gaps and facilitates seamless data exchange between disparate systems. Here’s why interoperability matters:

Improved Patient Outcomes: Accurate, real-time data sharing creates a seamless flow of information between various healthcare systems. This interconnectedness provides doctors access to comprehensive medical histories, including past treatments, allergies, imaging results, and ongoing prescriptions. This proactive approach gives better patient outcomes by preventing complications.

Enhanced Efficiency: In an interconnected system, the same blood test or imaging study doesn’t need to be repeated just because a patient switches facilities. Interoperability eliminates these inefficiencies by breaking down information silos.

Regulatory Compliance: Interoperability in healthcare isn’t just a choice—it’s becoming necessary as the US government emphasizes its role in transforming healthcare. Policies like the 21st Century Cures Act push healthcare organizations toward creating systems that can talk to one another. Therefore, compliance with interoperability standards helps healthcare organizations meet quality benchmarks and avoid penalties.

Key Standards Driving Interoperability in Healthcare

Standards are the backbone of interoperability. They provide a common language and structure for data exchange. AERIS supports several key standards that are pivotal for healthcare data sharing:

1. HL7 (Health Level Seven)

HL7 has been the cornerstone of healthcare data exchange for decades. Designed to facilitate communication between clinical and administrative systems, HL7 supports interoperability in scenarios ranging from patient referrals to lab result exchanges. AERIS streamlines HL7 adoption by:

Automating the mapping of HL7 messages to different system requirements.

Supporting compatibility with older HL7 versions.

Offering real-time message validation to reduce errors.

2. FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources)

FHIR is a modern standard designed for web-based interoperability. It supports RESTful APIs, making it ideal for cloud-based healthcare applications. AERIS enhances FHIR implementation by:

Providing pre-built APIs for quick integration.

Offering support for FHIR resources such as patients, medications, and observations.

Complying with regulatory frameworks such as USCDI (United States Core Data for Interoperability).

3. Nested Structures

Nested structures allow hierarchical organization of data, which makes them ideal for representing complex relationships, such as genomic data or multi-level analytics. AERIS empowers healthcare systems to handle nested data efficiently by:

JSON and XML formats, widely used for hierarchical data, are fully supported by AERIS.

AERIS provides tools to visualize relationships within nested datasets. This helps researchers and clinicians better understand the data.

AERIS scales seamlessly to manage high data volumes without compromising performance.

4. Flat Structures

Flat structures present data in simple, tabular formats, which makes them ideal for reporting and analytics. These structures are particularly useful when healthcare providers need to analyze trends or share summaries with stakeholders. AERIS excels in managing flat structures by:

AERIS converts flat data into interoperable formats that providers can easily integrate with more complex systems.

AERIS offers flexibility in data sharing by supporting a wide range of flat file formats, from CSV to Excel.

With AERIS, data ingestion and transformation happen automatically, which frees up valuable time for healthcare teams.

How AERIS Simplifies Interoperability in Healthcare

Here’s what makes AERIS a game-changer in healthcare interoperability.

1. End-to-End Integration

Healthcare systems often operate in silos, with electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory systems, and imaging tools functioning independently. This lack of communication can lead to inefficiencies and delays in patient care.

AERIS bridges this gap with its comprehensive end-to-end integration capabilities. Its plug-and-play modularity connects diverse systems without requiring extensive reconfiguration. Imagine a scenario where an EHR seamlessly communicates with a diagnostic lab system and instantly updates patient records with test results. By facilitating such seamless communication, AERIS helps healthcare professionals focus more on care delivery and less on chasing data.

2. Advanced Data Transformation

The healthcare industry relies on many data standards like HL7, FHIR, DICOM, etc., which can complicate data sharing. However, converting information from one format to another often requires tedious manual work.

AERIS eliminates this bottleneck with its advanced data transformation tools. It can automatically map, convert, and restructure data, making interoperability as simple as flipping a switch. Whether it’s translating HL7 data into FHIR for modern EHRs or handling nested data structures for advanced analytics, AERIS performs these tasks effortlessly. For example, a hospital adopting FHIR-based systems doesn’t have to worry about legacy HL7 data—it’s all transformed in real time.

3. Scalability

As healthcare organizations expand, so do their data-sharing requirements. New branches, increasing patient numbers, and the addition of advanced technologies all demand a solution that can grow alongside them.

AERIS is designed to scale effortlessly. Whether handling increased patient data or integrating with new systems, it manages the growing workload without compromising performance. For example, a multi-specialty hospital expanding to new locations can integrate all their systems into AERIS without worrying about performance dips. This flexibility ensures that data sharing remains seamless no matter how large the organization grows.

4. Compliance and Security

Safeguarding sensitive information is critical in a world where patient data breaches can have devastating consequences. AERIS tackles this challenge with its robust compliance and security framework.

Adhering to healthcare regulations like HIPAA, AERIS incorporates features like encryption, user authentication, and audit trails. This not only protects patient data but also allows healthcare organizations to meet regulatory requirements confidently.

Why Healthcare Organizations Choose AERIS

From simplifying integrations to prioritizing security, AERIS delivers on every front that matters in healthcare interoperability. It removes the technical barriers to data sharing, allowing organizations to focus on what they do best—delivering exceptional patient care. By addressing challenges head-on with advanced technology, AERIS transforms interoperability from a burden into an enabler of progress in modern healthcare.

FAQs

1. What is interoperability in healthcare, and why is it important?

Interoperability in healthcare refers to the ability of different systems to share and exchange data seamlessly, thus improving patient outcomes, reducing inefficiencies, and complying with regulatory standards.

2. What challenges do healthcare organizations face in achieving data interoperability?

Organizations often deal with data silos, multiple formats, and outdated systems that hinder seamless data sharing between healthcare providers.

3. How does AERIS simplify interoperability in healthcare?

AERIS simplifies interoperability by providing end-to-end integration, advanced data transformation tools, and support for key data standards like HL7 and FHIR.

4. What are the main data standards supported by AERIS?

Presently, AERIS supports HL7, FHIR, nested structures (e.g., JSON, XML), and flat structures (e.g., CSV, Excel) for healthcare data exchange.

5. How does AERIS improve patient outcomes through interoperability?

By facilitating real-time data sharing, AERIS allows healthcare providers to access complete medical histories, thus aiding in better diagnoses and treatments.