10/19/2015 2:28 AM EDS and the EDS logo are registered trademarks of Electronic Data Systems Corporation. EDS is an equal opportunity employer and values the diversity of its people. © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. International Interoperability of Healthcare Software Kenneth S. Rubin Enterprise Architect, EDS Kenneth S. Rubin Enterprise Architect, EDS

Page 2 © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. What is interoperability? Ability to meaningfully share business information The ability to use and leverage resources between systems and organizations Is paper interoperable? Is all interoperability created “equal”? How can one determine “how interoperable” systems are?

Page 3 © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. Pyramid of Interoperability FIX ANIMATION! Ability to Interoperate High Low

Page 4 © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. So, what about healthcare? Healthcare interoperability remains painfully basic –What integration does exist is message based –Limited and inconsistent use of terminologies –Point-to-point negotiated structure and semantics –Integration and maintenance is labour-intensive and costly –Difficult to incorporate off-the-shelf products –Challenging to interoperate with business partners

Page 5 © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. What must be done? “Elevate” the level of interoperability Require the use of shared semantics Promote the development of healthcare IT services Align budget and funding with business (and not project) objectives Consider smaller, modular solutions that integrate (versus large complex monolithic applications) Procure architecturally-conformant solutions Minimize the use of proprietary solutions

Page 6 © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. So, what is HL7 doing? HL7 has several service-oriented efforts (CCOW, CTS, Java, ITS) HL7 has not yet “embraced” services, however Informal “Services Birds-of-a-Feather” community has maintained steady interest HDF HL7 is responding to national interests –HL7 Canada, HL7 UK, HL7 Australia exploring solutions involving services –US NHII initiative appears to be influencing the HL7 Board of Directors

10/19/2015 2:28 AM EDS and the EDS logo are registered trademarks of Electronic Data Systems Corporation. EDS is an equal opportunity employer and values the diversity of its people. © 2004 Electronic Data Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. eds.com