JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Digital health systems and innovative care delivery within these systems have great potential to improve national healthcare and positively impact the health outcomes of patients. However currently, very few countries have systems which can implement digital interventions at scale. This is partly due to the lack of interoperable electronic health records (EHRs). It is difficult to make decisions for an individual or population when the data on that person or population is dispersed over multiple incompatible systems. This viewpoint paper highlights some key obstacles with current EHRs and some promising successes, with the aim of promoting EHR evolution and advocating for frameworks which develop digital health systems that serve populations – a critical goal as we move further into this data-rich century with an ever increasing number of patients who live longer and depend on healthcare services where resources may already be strained. Analyze the evolution, obstacles, and current landscape of EHRs and identify fundamental areas of hindrance for interoperability. Highlight countries where advances have been made and extract best practices from these examples. The obstacles to EHR interoperability are not easily solved but improving the current situation in countries where a national policy is not in place requires a focused inquiry into solutions from various sources in the public and private sector. Effort must be made on a national scale to seek solutions for optimally interoperable EHRs beyond status quo solutions. A list of considerations for best practices is suggested.