Ayaz, M., Pasha, M. F., Alzahrani, M. Y., Budiarto, R., & Stiawan, D. (2021). The fast health interoperability resources (FHIR) standard: Systematic literature review of implementations, applications, challenges and opportunities. JMIR Medical Informatics, 9(7), 1-44. Web.
To start with the background the paper states that the global healthcare system is experiencing a transition in the storage and documentation of data from the paper strategy to the use of electronic records. The change has created significant challenges given that it has no standards and that new technologies such as tablets, smartphones, and ubiquitous computing are still growing. It then provides its central theme that healthcare organizations are facing interoperability challenges due to the complexity and multiplicity of the digital framework. The researchers did a systematic review to explore the opportunity, implementation, challenges and future of Fast Health Interoperability Resources (FHIR) using electronic health records (EHR). Findings reveal that despite the fact that there are many semantic interoperability concerns in its implementation, the FHIR is an important development. It will be useful in exemplifying the specific example of FHIR. Similar to Svacina & Zvarova (2021), the article recognizes that the heterogeneity of modern technology makes standardization difficult. The conclusion is that it may be needful for multi-sectorial leadership in healthcare to consider selecting on type of technology for use in patient data.
Braunstein, M. L. (2018). Health care in the age of interoperability: the potential and challenges. IEEE pulse, 9(5), 34-36. Web.
The article starts by recognizing that healthcare interoperability is most useful in the management of chronic diseases. The main theme is that the interoperability challenges of EHR make it difficult to offer quality care for persons with complex chronic disease. Noteworthy, there is an influx of people suffering from lifestyle diseases, especially in the developed world, where the life expectancy is significantly higher. For instance, more than 90% of the Medicare expenditure is used to support people who are over 60 years (Braunstein, 2018). The healthcare industry experiencing interoperability challenges may delay getting ab accurate diagnosis, and fail to optimize care for such patients. Therefore, the article is relevant in providing statistical evidence on the negative impact of interoperability challenges on patients. The paper is comparable to the work of Gohar et al. (2021) as they both recognize the negative impact of lack of interoperability on the quality of medical care. The healthcare system need to adopt a patient-centered health model yet the issues with interoperability make it difficult to offer fast and quality care.
Gohar, A., AbdelGaber, S., & Salah, M. (2021). A proposed patient-centric healthcare framework for better semantic interoperability using blockchain. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), 19(11), 26-36.
The adoption of EHR and cloud storage has increased data sharing. However, such a move to share patient data among various healthcare professionals has received a backlash for interfering with the autonomy of the clients. The main aim is that blockchain can help to improve data security and privacy for healthcare systems using electronic records. Therefore, the paper explored 15 models and block-chain-based frameworks to understand the theoretical, architectural, and technical demands in its implementation. The authors then selected a novel cloud-based EHR based on blockchain. The model is cost effective with great potential for solving the security and privacy challenges in interoperability. The article provides a solution the interoperability challenges in healthcare. Similarly, Gupta et al. (2021) offer the solution of using blockchain as a way to improve interoperability challenges. Therefore, the article is relevant in confirming the interoperability challenges when writing the literature review. In addition, the paper will be useful in writing recommendations for practice and further research area.
Gupta, P., Hudnurkar, M., & Ambekar, S. (2021). Effectiveness of blockchain to solve the interoperability challenges in healthcare. Cardiometry, 20, 80–88. Web.
The objective of the study was to find out how blockchain can transform healthcare by building a patient-driven ecosystem that upholds privacy and security while enhancing interoperability. The central theme is that since blockchain technology can decentralize data, it can make it possible to provide standards to the semantics used in EHR communication across medical health professionals. The researchers utilized a qualitative research methodology using interviews to collect data from industry developers and experts in the field of information technology. Findings from the results indicate that there is pragmatic evidence for the use of blockchains to alleviate the interoperability challenges. Gohar et al. (2021) found that the challenges of interoperability in healthcare can be resolved by correctly applying the blockchain. The paper is useful as it offers a business perspective on how computer systems used in hospitals can be improved to enable clear, secure, and reliable data. Moreover, the paper shows how to achieve patient-centered interoperability. Therefore, the article provides significant insights into some practical implementation strategies for EHR records within an ecosystem.
Svacina, S., & Zvarova, J. (2021). Semantic Interoperability in Medicine and Healthcare III. European Journal for Biomedical Informatics, 1 (1), 119-122. Web.
The relevance of semantic interoperability is evident in its ability to provide ubiquitous forms of data through digital media. The central theme is that EHR is essential as it facilitates sharing of information among clinicians, lab technicians, pharmacists and the patients. Notably, interoperability is the ability of two computerized networks to exchange and utilize data. When there is flawless interoperability in the medical field it will be possible to transfer data efficiently, consistently and securely. The article compares to Ullah et al. (2017), as both explain the relevance of semantic interoperability. The paper will provide a precise definition of semantic interoperability. Moreover, it explains the technologies used and the standards for having proper semantics. The article is relevant in explaining the use of acronyms can create confusion in transiting messages if there are no universal standards. Therefore, it is relevant to standardize the abbreviations in a standard way to ensure information is understood by all authorized recipients.
Ullah, F., Habib, M. A., Farhan, M., Khalid, S., Durrani, M. Y., & Jabbar, S. (2017). Semantic interoperability for big-data in heterogeneous IoT infrastructure for healthcare. Sustainable Cities and Society, 34, 90-96. Web.
Interoperability is a major challenge for electronic health records developers who wish to have a stable interconnection of devices through the Internet of things (IoT). The main theme is showing that the IoT devices used across healthcare is brought about by the heterogeneity of digital devices. Particularly, they may have different data formats, communication protocols, and technologies. The objective of the researchers develop a semantic interoperability model for big data in IoT (SIMB-IoT), which gives recommendations for various symptoms using the Resource Description Framework (RDF). It creates a recyclable semantic web framework and communicates the same information in three different sentences with the same meaning. For instance, the works of Svacina & Zvarova (2021) and Ayaz (2021), the paper recognizes heterogeneity and complexity of modern computer networks as a major challenges in interoperability. Thus, it will be relevant in supporting the literature review on the challenges of interoperability and solutions.
References
Ayaz, M., Pasha, M. F., Alzahrani, M. Y., Budiarto, R., & Stiawan, D. (2021). The fast health interoperability resources (FHIR) standard: Systematic literature review of implementations, applications, challenges and opportunities. JMIR Medical Informatics, 9(7), 1-44. Web.
Braunstein, M. L. (2018). Health care in the age of interoperability: the potential and challenges. IEEE pulse, 9(5), 34-36. Web.
Gohar, A., AbdelGaber, S., & Salah, M. (2021). A proposed patient-centric healthcare framework for better semantic interoperability using blockchain. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), 19(11), 26-36.
Gupta, P., Hudnurkar, M., & Ambekar, S. (2021). Effectiveness of blockchain to solve the interoperability challenges in healthcare. Cardiometry, 20, 80–88. Web.
Svacina, S., & Zvarova, J. (2021). Semantic Interoperability in Medicine and Healthcare III. European Journal for Biomedical Informatics, 1 (1), 119-122. Web.
Ullah, F., Habib, M. A., Farhan, M., Khalid, S., Durrani, M. Y., & Jabbar, S. (2017). Semantic interoperability for big-data in heterogeneous IoT infrastructure for healthcare. Sustainable Cities and Society, 34, 90 96. Web.