Building Sustainable Healthcare Interoperability: Why “Grow Your Own” Expertise is the Key
You’re likely facing a challenge many healthcare organizations grapple with: achieving true interoperability. You’ve problably seen job postings for highly specialized roles like Lead Data Modelers (FHIR), FHIR Interoperability specialists, and Healthcare Solution Architects. While these roles seem necessary,a more effective – and sustainable – approach often lies within your existing team.
LetS explore why, and how you can build a robust interoperability capability without relying solely on expensive, hard-to-find full-time hires.
The Challenge of Finding “Unicorns”
The truth is, the ideal candidate described in those job postings is rare. Years of specialized experience, deep FHIR knowledge, and a unique educational background are a arduous combination to find.Ther simply aren’t dozens of people globally who possess this specific skillset.
Furthermore, interoperability isn’t a product to build, it’s the foundation upon which you build a product. Standards like FHIR exist as a need already existed – they’re solutions to common problems,not inspirations for entirely new concepts.
A Better Approach: Invest in Your Team
Rather of chasing elusive external hires, I recommend a “build from within” strategy. This involves elevating members of your product team and equipping them with the necessary expertise. Yes, it’s an adjustment to existing roles, but the return on investment – through increased internal capability – is meaningful.Consider pairing this with a focused engagement with an interoperability expert (like myself) to accelerate the learning process. This isn’t about outsourcing the work; it’s about knowledge transfer and empowerment.
Here’s how a phased engagement could work:
Months 1-2: Intensive training and mentorship (2-3 days/week) focusing on core skills.
Months 3-6: Reduced support (a few days/month) for ongoing guidance and problem-solving.
Months 7-9: Minimal support (a few hours/month) for occasional consultation and refinement.
Over 600-1000 hours,this approach delivers lasting value – a skilled team capable of navigating the complexities of interoperability.
What Your Team Will Learn: A Core Skillset
This isn’t just about understanding FHIR syntax. It’s about developing a critical mindset and a complete skillset. Your team will learn how to:
Discover and interpret relevant standards: Identifying the right standards for your specific needs. Approach standards effectively: Understanding how to read and decipher complex documentation.
Extract requirements and explore alternatives: Translating standards into actionable development tasks. Navigate the resources: Knowing where to find help, open-source tools, and test procedures.
Embrace postel’s Law: “Be conservative in what you send,be liberal in what you accept” – a crucial principle for interoperability.
Contribute to standard improvement: Engaging in the FHIR community and influencing future development.
Address interpretations: confidently challenging and clarifying ambiguous interpretations of the standard.
Balance creativity and rigor: Knowing when to innovate and when to adhere strictly to the standard.
Sustainability and Cultural integration
Interoperability, and related areas like privacy and security, aren’t solely technical challenges. They’re also cultural ones. While certifications like HL7 training can be helpful, they’re moast effective when integrated into the existing roles of your team members.
Think of these areas as requiring a dedicated role to ensure the culture is followed, rather than a full-time position dedicated to the task itself.
This model works well even in large organizations like Oracle Health, Epic, and GE Healthcare. Even they struggle to justify standalone interoperability positions, and recognize the power of distributed expertise.
Why This Approach Works
Cost-Effective: A focused engagement is considerably more affordable than a full-time hire for six months or more.
Sustainable: you build internal expertise that remains with your organization.
Adaptable: Your team develops the skills to adapt to evolving standards and technologies.
* Collaborative: Fosters a strong working relationship with external experts for ongoing support.
Ultimately, building interoperability isn’t about finding the perfect person. It