One of the most mature data sharing networks is eHealth Exchange.  That’s why I really enjoy attending their annual meeting to connect with the widest breadth of healthcare stakeholders that are focused on health data sharing.  Everyone from public health, providers, payers, and more were at the conference diving into all the progress that’s been made with healthcare interoperability.

While at the conference, I shared a number of insights and perspectives that were shared at the conference.  Here’s some of the top ones along with some additional commentary.

I’m always blown away by the volume of data sharing that’s happening.  25 billion exchanges annually is a lot of data.  Of course, even with that volume if you’re the patient and your data hasn’t been shared, then it’s still frustrating.  However, it’s worth really acknowledging the progress that’s been made and the massive amount of data sharing that is happening.

Along with data sharing, these stats on the breadth of eHealth Exchange’s network are fascinating as well.  I don’t think any network has a wider set of partners in their network.

I often hear people talking about how FHIR is the future and then I hear other people talk about FHIR not being mature enough yet.  Both are likely true since we’ve proven that it takes at least a decade for a standard to become mature.  eHealth Exchange and their public health partners embracing of FHIR feels like another step in the maturing of FHIR.

Until I saw this roadmap, I didn’t realize all of the things that eHealth Exchange was doing.  Needless to say, they have a lot going on when it comes to health data sharing.  It also highlights how much work there is to do.

There’s always something powerful when a patient and/or caregiver shares their story at the start of a healthcare event.  It reframes all of the conversations that come after.  Erica Olenski did an amazing job sharing her story as a patient and caregiver which really framed the whole event.  I saw many people come up to her to share how they were touched by her story and how it was the best part of the event.

The number of people I hear sharing stories about LLMs like ChatGPT being an important part of their care is increasing in a massive way.  As one patient said, I only see my doctor for 15-60 minutes.  I have questions all the time and ChatGPT is there for me all the time.

Listening to patients can be powerful.  I especially like the idea that innovation does not only mean technology.  We’re seeing this more and more with AI where people realize that AI often removes the mundane so that humans can do innovative things.

August Artists is a really cool effort to make an experience at the hospital better.  The reality is that other than giving birth, no one wants to be in the hospital and it’s amazing how small things like coloring the windows can improve patients and caregivers’ experience.

This was one of the most poignant insights I heard and illustrate where we’re at with healthcare data interoperability.  The solutions are out there to share the data, but we haven’t scaled it up everywhere that’s needed.

I didn’t realize that 400 organizations had taken the CMS pledge.  If I remember right, I think they had about 100 with the initial announcement, so a lot of companies have joined since.  Also, in one of the Q&A sections it was pointed out that even if you don’t fit one of the main CMS Pledge categories, they now have a friend of the CMS Pledge option so that pretty much any organization could be involved in the effort.

I’m still chewing on this idea that the enemy of scaling is inertia.  Kind of reminds me of the idea that the enemy is “how it’s always been done.”  There is a lot of inertia in healthcare and change is hard.  Lisa is right that without the right people, the best technology, standards, etc in the world won’t change anything.

Fascinating perspectives on TEFCA.  I’d love to hear what your perspective is.  Lisa’s comments remind me of meaningful use.  A lot of people imagined goals for meaningful use that didn’t exist.  Then they were disappointed when certain things like data sharing didn’t happen.  Feels like TEFCA and QHINs have been oversold and will suffer a similar fate.  It’s good to know what its real goal is versus our imagined goal for it.

I think we all want ePriorAuth to be a reality.  However, it still feels like there’s a lot of uncertainty and messiness ahead for us to get there.

If you’re not familiar with the CMS Health Tech ecoystem, be sure to search it out.  We’ll be sharing more about it tomorrow from The Sequoia Project and Carequality annual meeting too.  I love that Amy framed CMS’ efforts through the eyes of her daughter who has a complex set of health issues.

One of the most interesting sessions at the conference was “Let’s stop doing stupid stuff” by Ryan Howells.  He highlighted a wide variety of things we do in healthcare (“Stupid stuff” if you will) and better ways to do them.  Here’s the quick rundown of some of the things he shared:

Stupid Thing: Multiple Provider Directories.
Smart Thing: CMS Provider and FHIR Endpoint Directory

Stupid Thing: Password Rules
Smart Thing: Digital Identity

Stupid Thing: Information Blocking
Smart Thing: Information Blocking enforcement that works

Stupid Thing: RCM
Smart Thing: Digital Insurance Cards and ePrior Authorizations
**This one feels like a bit of a stretch from me, but the smart things are great efforts.

Stupid Thing: Current ASTP/ONC certification
Smart Thing: Modular API & Interface Certification

Stupid Thing: Moving to AI before APIs
Smart Thing: API-enabled Clinical Decision Support powered by AI for doctors and patients

Stupid Thing: Manual Quality Measurement Reporting
Smart Thing: CQL, FHIR APIs, and the PIQI Framework = dQM

Stupid Thing: HIPAA
Smart Thing: 21st Century Cures and federal policy that protects health data everywhere
**This likely needs a little more context.  He wasn’t suggesting privacy doesn’t matter, but he suggested there’s a better way to protect privacy.

This juxtaposition highlights the challenge that is healthcare.  One regulation feels at odds with another.  For those that know HIPAA, you know that it’s not a barrier to sharing, but it certainly is often used as one.

Those were some of the big things that were shared at the eHealth Exchange Annual Meeting.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on what was shared.  What stood out to you and how would you extend the conversation?  Let us know your perspectives on social media.