Interoperability in Healthcare: When Systems Speak the Same Language

Have you ever treated a patient who had been to multiple services but arrived with no reliable clinical data? Then you’ve experienced the impact of poor interoperability firsthand.

It was the start of a shift when Dr. Rafael admitted a patient with chest pain. Two days earlier, she had been to a private clinic and done blood tests at a partnered lab. She was taking antibiotics but couldn’t recall which one. When he opened her medical record... nothing. No clinical notes, no lab results, no prescriptions. A blank slate.

The outcome? Phone calls, repeated tests, wasted time — and increased clinical risk.

This scenario is far too common. And almost always, it comes down to one issue: systems that don’t talk to each other.

What is healthcare interoperability?

Interoperability is the ability of different healthcare information systems to exchange data in a structured, secure, and understandable way. In other words: it’s when systems “speak the same language,” even if built by different vendors.

But here’s the key: for this communication to work, the data must be structured.

That means clinical information — such as allergies, diagnoses, test results, prescriptions — must be formatted in a standardized, machine-readable way. No loose notes, scanned documents, or contextless PDFs.

Without structure, there’s no integration. And without integration, there’s no interoperability.

Quick analogy: healthcare without interoperability is like a multilingual hospital

Imagine this inside a single hospital:

• The lab speaks Spanish

• The pharmacy, German

• The nursing team, Portuguese

• The admin office, English

Everyone is trying to care for the same patient — but no one understands each other. Total confusion.

That’s what happens when systems use unstructured data: they’re speaking different “languages,” and nothing connects.

A patient’s journey is a puzzle — interoperability connects the pieces

From first contact to ongoing care, patients go through several stages: triage, consultation, tests, prescriptions, referrals. Each stage generates critical clinical data.

Without interoperability, that data becomes fragmented and inaccessible. With interoperability — and structured data — it connects into a clear, secure clinical timeline.

Interoperability in everyday care — even when you don’t notice

Many healthcare professionals are already using interoperability without realizing it. Examples include:

• When an e-prescription from the clinic is automatically accepted at the pharmacy

• When the national health card pulls up prior medical data from another state

• When vaccination history appears directly in the basic care unit’s system via the RNDS

• When blood test results from an external lab show up in the patient’s EHR without manual entry

All of these happen because the systems are exchanging structured data — like coded allergies, standardized lab values, and diagnoses using clinical terminology sets.

HL7 FHIR: the standard that's connecting healthcare

HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is an international standard that defines how health data should be organized and shared. It turns each clinical record into a structured data “block” that any system can read — like LEGO pieces that fit together, no matter the manufacturer.

Real-world example: blood tests using FHIR

You’re in the ER and request urgent blood work from an external lab.

• With FHIR and structured data: The results are released by the lab system and automatically sent to your system, already organized as a FHIR Observation Resource. The EHR reads, classifies, and displays the data reliably.

• Without FHIR (or with unstructured data): The results arrive as a PDF. You have to open it, interpret it manually, and enter the values yourself — a slow, risky, error-prone process.

  
  

Interoperability in Brazil: current progress and direction

Brazil is making strides toward interoperability with initiatives such as:

• RNDS (National Health Data Network): a Ministry of Health platform using FHIR to connect data like vaccinations, test results, and notifications between public and private systems.

• Private hospitals and health insurers: are adopting structured-data interoperability to consolidate medical records, improve audits, and ensure continuity of care.

More than just technology: it’s about safety, efficiency, and care

Interoperability:

• Reduces duplication and rework

• Lowers clinical error risks

• Supports continuous, coordinated care

• Improves clinical decision-making

But none of this is possible unless patient data is properly recorded, structured, and coded.

Final thought: interoperability starts with quality data entry

If you work in healthcare, you don’t need to be a tech expert. But you do need to understand that interoperability starts with how you record information.

Structured data allows integration. And integration saves time, money — and lives.

📌 Advocate for systems that adopt open standards like FHIR. And remember: there is no connected healthcare without organized data.

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