Why Interoperability Is Crucial to Medtech’s Success

SECTOR UPDATE – Jochen Scharafin, IRIS for Health Specialist, InterSystems

While InterSystems is often associated with electronic medical record (EMR) systems, a growing part of our business is helping medical device and technology or medtech companies to compete globally using the data platform technology on which our EMR system is built. And increasingly, what we see is that medtech companies need to build impressive data elements into their solutions to be successful.

In New Zealand, like much of the world, health systems perform rigorous cost-benefit analyses before signing off on new medical device and technology purchases. The intense scrutiny, combined with emerging business practices and innovation models, could make some medtech companies uncompetitive. Those that remain will understand that gaining an edge in the market requires more cost efficient, clinically effective medtech solutions. Increasingly, that means integrated data-driven solutions, straight from the manufacturer.

But what does a successful data component look like in a medtech solution? The answer is the same set of characteristics that are improving clinical care the world over: the power to turn enormous quantities of information into healthy data and the kind of interoperability that can break down stubborn data silos. Medtech companies that survive and thrive in this new world will increasingly build their life-saving solutions on an interoperable data platform.

More Data, More Opportunity

In the next five years, the world’s data stores are expected to jump from 33 to 175 zettabytes, according to the IDC white paper “Data Age 2025”. Healthcare, whose data supply is projected to climb by 10 percent, will ride a flood of wearables, genomic and diagnostic imaging data to be among the top growth industries.

The effects are already visible in healthcare specialties like radiology, where the sheer mass of medical data can’t be analysed and managed without intelligent data technology. But if medtech companies get it right, the influx of data won’t be a problem. Unlike humans, after all, technology works exponentially more precisely and reliably when fed greater amounts of information. All this data could mean better care.

Success, however, hinges on adaptability. Medtech companies and healthcare providers must establish interdisciplinary teams, recruit experienced big data professionals, and execute better data networking and analysis, according to a 2019 Capgemini study titled “Intelligent Technologies”.

At the heart of this evolution is the availability of normalised data, or what we call, “healthy data”. Information isn’t any good – in fact, it can be detrimental – if it’s messy and unusable. Medtech companies will position themselves for success when they institute a strong coordinated data management program, built on a solution that reconciles the orchestration of big data with patient well-being and client financial goals.

Interoperability and Data Management

The next key to medtech success is simple but imperative. Removing data silos is vital to any agile digitisation process. Whether it’s a new system or device or a legacy technology, medtech solutions must encompass the ability to transfer information among all integrated sources. When data is trapped in one place, patients and clients lose out on its clinical and financial benefits.

Interoperability, of course, depends on forward-thinking software. This includes systems that seamlessly support current global healthcare standards and profiles, like those produced by IHE, HL7 and FHIR, and DICOM.

From there, medtech companies and healthcare providers can pursue higher aspirations. Pioneering artificial intelligence applications, for instance, can use their speed and precision to deliver targeted support to physicians. But the aptitude of AI and machine learning will always depend on the quality and seamless exchange of the underlying data.

Optimising Medtech for a New Kind of Care

Medtech’s data evolution comes down to the sort of scalable, comprehensive, interoperable data platform that fuels an agile data management program and fosters in-depth analysis. I’ve seen medtech companies use data platforms to bring new innovative services to market, opening new revenue streams and improving interactions between physicians and patients. 

Medtech companies that ignore data will suffer in a consolidating market. Those that prioritise interoperability and healthy data will boost the value of their solutions and their organisations. More importantly, they will create a more effective healthcare system for physicians and patients alike.

About the author

Jochen Scharafin is an IRIS for Health Specialist for InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical scalability, interoperability, and speed problems. He has more than 20 years of experience in developing medical technology and complex solution concepts in healthcare.

See: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochen-scharafin-a80972194/

Source: Jochen Scharafin, IRIS for Health Specialist, InterSystems media release, 3 November 2020

Sector updates are provided by organisations to eHealthNews.nz and have not necessarily been edited or checked for accuracy. Any queries should be directed to the organisation issuing the release.

Do you have an item to add to sector updates?

Email your information to us at updates@hinz.org.nz

Return to eHealthNews.nz home page