455 - Practical Steps to Healthcare Interoperability: Conversations with Sparked FHIR Experts

Talking HealthTech

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, host Peter Birch is joined by Kate Ebrill, Interoperability Lead at AEHRC CSIRO and National Lead at Sparked FHIR Accelerator, alongside Danielle Bancroft, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Best Practice Software. The conversation dives deep into the world of healthcare interoperability.

They explore the vital need for seamless data exchange within healthcare systems, the community-driven approach of Sparked, Australia’s national FHIR accelerator, and the exciting prospects for healthcare data exchange. They discuss the critical role of FHIR standards and how they're being adapted and implemented in Australia to improve clinical workflows, enhance patient care, and fuel innovation in healthcare.

Key Takeaways

• Importance of Interoperability: Seamless data exchange in healthcare systems is crucial for efficient and effective patient care. Interoperability ensures that information is shared without manipulation or additional effort.
• Incremental Improvements: Instead of aiming for a perfect system from scratch, the focus should be practical, incremental enhancements in healthcare data exchange.
• Community-Driven Approach: Sparked operates with a bottom-up community-driven process involving over 600 people and is backed by government and health agencies, aiming to localise international FHIR standards for use within Australia.
• Design Groups: The process of developing FHIR standards involves design groups, including a clinical design group with over 400 participants focused on identifying core information for exchange and a technical design group to implement these using the FHIR standard.
• Focus on Key Use Cases: The emphasis is on essential use cases like bulk uploads and patient summaries to demonstrate the practical benefits of FHIR standards.

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it.

Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet-ups, special offers, and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus