The public comment period for the proposed CMS rule concerning interoperability and prior authorization processes recently closed in mid-March. Now is the perfect time for players in the health care delivery space to assess where they stand against goals and how they can move forward in advancing EHI interoperability. From the bird’s eye view perspective, it’s clear that many health plans are experiencing a performance gap between goal setting and goal achievement.

Many of the barriers to enhancing health data information exchange are known and include: myriad supporting software systems with varying data and nomenclature standards; antiquated legacy systems, and making the data available to analysts and decision makers. Although some of these challenges may seem daunting, they may be overcome. Two actions health plans should consider in advancing achievement of their interoperability goals include:

Gartner^®, Quick Answer: What is the ROI of FHIR?, March 29, 2023