Interoperability and Population Health Trend Report

In the tumultuous landscape within which healthcare operates, the annual CHIME Digital Health Most Wired (DHMW) survey is a significant “north star” that healthcare organisations (HCOs) have relied upon for years. Widely known for the annual Most Wired recognition awards, the DHMW survey provides healthcare leaders a comprehensive profile of digital health usage in U.S. HCOs and a reliable resource by which to benchmark their own digital health progression.

With participation from approximately 40% of U.S. hospitals, the array of HCOs included in the 2023 DHMW survey can be characterised as representative of the known US Health System landscape. As such, the survey serves as a critical resource in helping researchers identify major themes and shifts in the HCO marketplace. In the 2023 DHMW survey findings the overarching theme can be characterised as “the acceleration of data usage”.

While the early days of digital health were shaped by Meaningful Use, HCOs have largely moved on from simple data capture and storage to leveraging that data to improve clinical and operational outcomes. “Acceleration of data usage” as a theme was evident in all eight sections of the survey but is especially pertinent to the Interoperability and Population Health section. Success in a value-based care environment requires HCOs to leverage patient data quickly and accurately to positively impact the health of select population groups. This can only
be accomplished when the data is undergirded by strong interoperability capabilities.

To help make sense of the Interoperability and Population Health findings in the 2023 DHMW survey, CHIME sat down with leaders from InterSystems, an industry-leading provider of next generation data solutions for enterprise digital transformations. Using the 2023 DHMW survey as a starting point, we profile findings from the survey regarding the data exchange capabilities of HCOs as well as the varied technologies HCOs leverage to improve the health outcomes of select population groups before leaning on the profound insights from InterSystems leaders to provide context and clarity around the myriad of complex issues HCO leaders must navigate in their data exchange and data targeting efforts.

Emerging from this effort, we find that for HCOs to accelerate data usage, HCO leaders need to have a robust idea of what success looks like for their Population Health projects and to communicate that effectively to their various stakeholders.