Interoperability

“The only constant in life is change.” This quote is often attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. If you’ve worked in healthcare—particularly in the past few years—then you understand change. Our top 10 most-viewed stories in 2022 show that Heraclitus was right.

The writer James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” As we faced the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the years since, it has become clear that interoperability isn’t optional. It’s the foundation for useful information sharing.

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world,” said Margaret Mead. “Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Our own Tara Dragert took a page from Mead’s playbook with her essay. “It’s inspiring to be a part of change,” she says, “and be on a leadership team at Surescripts with extraordinary women.”

Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. It's no secret that prescribers are under pressure to see the patient—and then the next patient. It can be tough to get the full picture of a patient’s medication history, but sometimes all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse.

Our own Ken Whittemore Jr., Vice President of Pharmacy & Regulatory Affairs, once worked with the DEA to complete the “daunting task” of balancing the digital transformation of healthcare with the need for safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances. He got it done.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible,” Einstein said, “but not simpler.” The same applies to the delivery of specialty medications—a complex process. By reducing unnecessary follow-up and creating workflow efficiencies, we’re making it as simple as possible.

Patients want answers and hope, not waiting and uncertainty. If technology can eliminate just one stack of paper forms, one illegible fax, one more outreach by phone to check on a prior authorization, it’s a win for everyone—not least the patient.

“Change is the law of life,” said President John F. Kennedy, “and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” In a sense, all technological progress looks beyond the present to focus on the future, and that’s never truer than when it comes to a serious illness that requires specialty medication.

It’s time for holiday travel, which means kids in the backseat asking, “Are we there yet?” We asked the same question about our progress on interoperability. We can’t really know unless we measure our progress, says Healthcare Leadership Council President Mary Grealy.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. prescribers—681,000, to be precise—are using our Real-Time Prescription Benefit solution to find affordable medications for their patients, like out-of-pocket costs and flags for prior authorization. It’s all at prescribers’ fingertips, at the point of care.

Our 2021 National Progress Report made one thing clear: American healthcare professionals and organizations are sharing more trusted health intelligence. And they’re doing it because the lives and needs of patients—and the lives and needs of healthcare professionals—have changed.

Surescripts serves the nation through simpler, trusted health intelligence sharing, to increase patient safety, lower costs and improve the quality of care.

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Our Top 10 Stories of ’22 Show that Change in Healthcare is the Only Constant