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Clinical Integrations for Interoperability: Manage Data, Add Organizational Value, and Improve Patient Outcomes

We’re sure you’ve heard us shouting from the rooftops about the importance of centralizing data, but we’re saying it again for the people in the back — according to an NIH study, interoperability solutions in healthcare are the key to overcoming some of the industry's most difficult challenges, and they promise to drastically cut healthcare costs.

Interoperability solutions are achieved via clinical integrations, and the need for them is heightened by the sheer amount of patient data being produced:

By 2025 the compound annual growth rate for healthcare data will reach 36% — a higher volume and growth rate than any other industry in the world

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From our experience working with hundreds of provider organizations, we know that integrating clinical systems and applications with Salesforce Health Cloud is a major component in gaining interoperability for the next generation of healthcare providers. It’s useful for any organizations that want to achieve:

Improved centralization and management of patient data
A better understanding of patients and operations based on all of the data available
Actionable information to positively impact things like the patient experience and outcomes, process efficiencies, and referral partner relationship

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We’re talking big picture metrics, comprehensive records linked to clinical data, and not having 7 entries for the same person because their name is spelled differently in every system.

This blog will give you a rundown of using clinical integrations — which at Kicksaw we define as connections which create interoperability to improve operations and ensure success — with information about:

HLS (Healthcare and Life Sciences) data sources and use
Clinical integration use cases and system examples
Integration methods
Next steps

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But Wait, There’s More! The Data Dilemma

Based on the industry trends listed above and our own experience working with HLS clients, the amount of healthcare data being generated will only continue to grow, along with the need for interoperability via clinical integrations.

More information is great, but the vast majority of it is being wasted. The World Economic Forum stated that:

97% of data produced by hospitals each year goes unused

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Why wouldn’t you be putting this unprecedented amount of data to use? If you’re a provider organization, you probably know the answer.

While technological advances have helped digitalize healthcare information — think EHRs, wearable and medical devices, smartphones, online pharmacies, digital engagement, etc. — the amount of data sources and volume of data itself is difficult, time consuming, and expensive to manage manually.

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A 2022 Elsevier report that surveyed thousands of practitioners worldwide found:

69% of clinicians agreed that the volume of patient data is overwhelming
Clinicians also noted frustrations related to the administrative burden of EHRs

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So if you’re having trouble getting a handle on all that data or scaling your management of that data and putting it to good use, you’re not alone.

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How Clinical Integrations Can Help

Regardless of how many data sources you’re dealing with, clinical integrations work to achieve the interoperability needed to make data management less overwhelming and more useful by:

Ensuring it’s more complete
Putting it all in one place, but streamlining how it’s presented based on a person’s role and responsibilities
Getting rid of duplicates and inaccuracies
Providing automation that improves workflows and data analysis

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‍Clinical Integration Type: Electronic Health Records (EHR)

*There’s a lot of crossover when it comes to solutions that manage patient and clinical data, and these systems are often paired with spreadsheets to help manage various aspects of a clinic or practice

System/Application Examples: Epic, Cerner, ModMed, Athena Health (athenaOne), Kipu, NextGen Healthcare, DrChrono, WebPT, Veridigm (formerly Allscripts), Brightree

Use Cases: Patient Engagement, Referral Management, Intake and Admissions, Care Management, Provider Network Management, Patient Communication

Organizational Impact: If you’re looking for a big value clinical integration, start here:

Combining your EHR with Salesforce Health Cloud eliminates the need to search for and organize your that data, which saves time and resources
When bidirectional data flow is enabled it means both Health Cloud and patient/provider records have complete, real-time information
It ensures less provider and employee frustration, and better patient outcomes

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Clinical Integration Type: Practice/Clinical Management

System/Application Examples: IntakeQ, Zenoti

Use Cases: Appointment Scheduling, Revenue Cycle Management, Intake and Admissions, Payments and Claims, Insurance Billing

Organizational Impact: Aside from improving workflows, this type of integration can help identify revenue opportunities by tying clinical information back to both operations and revenue in Health Cloud

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Clinical Integration Type: Medical Imaging, Devices, Pharmaceutical Management, Care Coordination, LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems)

System/Application Examples: Konica Minolta Exa® PACS, ResMed, Care Orchestrator, XiFin, CarePort

Use Cases: Care Management, Patient Risk Scoring, Lab and Test Results, Device Data, Medication and Therapy Management, Remote Patient Monitoring, Partner Management and Recruitment

Organizational Impact: This is the type of data and functionality that will directly impact patient care; these integrations will not only gives you a big picture view via Salesforce Health Cloud, they keep vital patient records up-to-date with minimal effort

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Clinical Integration Type: Digital Communication and Engagement; Including Email, Social Media, Call Center Management, Fax, Forms

System/Application Examples: FormStack, Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Amazon Connect, RingCentral, Five9, Talkdesk, Opera Fax zPaper

Use Cases: Collaborative Care, Care Coordination and Management, Referral Management, Marketing and Outreach, Patient and Partner Messaging

Organizational Impact: Having all communication linked directly to the appropriate record in Health Cloud gets rid of siloed information and puts that data into context, helping build a complete view of a patient or partner’s journey

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Integration Methods

If you’re working with a partner that has technical expertise (which we highly recommend doing to avoid heartache, wasted time, and wasted funds), they can give you several options for clinical integration methods based on your timeline, budget, and goals.

Middleware integrations (including solutions like MuleSoft, Mirth Connect, Redox) are a way to streamline clinical integrations using software that, in this case, is either specifically designed to make Salesforce or clinical integrations easier.

Good for a tight timeline
Prices vary
Some middleware options only offer connections for specific systems or system types
Be sure to integrate ongoing vendor fees into your OpEx budget

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Custom integrations are something you may normally associate with a higher price tag, but may be more budget-friendly depending on your goals. Broad technical expertise is important here.

Good for flexibility
Experience level will impact quality
Common best practice tip: consider middleware over custom if you have multiple integration sources (i.e., more than two)
Cloud pricing can mean lower overall OpEx

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Because we’re talking about Salesforce, the king of consolidating systems and information, there are also Salesforce add-ons and 3rd-party applications that offer options for integrating specific clinical functionality. There are a lot of options out there, and tools and prices vary widely.

Having a tech expert with product and industry knowledge walk you through the Salesforce ecosystem and AppExchange will help narrow things down

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Next Steps

If that all sounded great, but you don’t know where to start with your own provider organization, we highly recommend taking an inventory of your clinical systems as well as all the ways your teams communicate, log, and manage data. Take a look at:

How much manual input is involved in keeping systems up-to-date
How many systems and applications require separate log-ins
How often team members need to switch systems or applications to complete tasks
How data is being analyzed and how long your current reporting processes take
Where information has an opportunity to fall through the cracks
How much back-and-forth communication is needed to update or verify information
The impact your current solution is having on the patient experience (e.g., wait times for appointments/care/info, ease of communication/care/information access, etc.)

Our engineering team is here if you have any clinical integration questions or want to know about next steps regarding your own solution's interoperability — and we’ve got some great additional resources listed below if you’re looking for more Kicksaw solution insights.

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