HL7 FHIR Initiative Targets Medical Device Interoperability

As the use of electronic medical devices grows, the ability of health IT systems to safely, securely and effectively exchange and use medical device data becomes critical. However, while the healthcare industry has made major strides in EHR data exchange, medical device interoperability has lagged.Devices like infusion pumps, ventilators and patient monitors often operate in data silos, requiring manual transcription of information into health IT systems. Not only does manual transcription add to clinician burden, but it also introduces documentation errors that could impact patient safety.In a recent webinar, Viet Nguyen, MD, HL7's chief standards implementation officer, and Todd Cooper, co-chair of HL7's healthcare devices working group, discussed how HL7 is looking to drive medical device interoperability through a new FHIR accelerator.