Electronic health records and cardiac implantable electronic devices: new paradigms and efficiencies

The anticipated advantages of electronic health records (EHRs)-improved efficiency and the ability to share information across the healthcare enterprise-have so far failed to materialize. There is growing recognition that interoperability holds the key to unlocking the greatest value of EHRs. Health information technology (HIT) systems including EHRs must be able to share data and be able to interpret the shared data. This requires a controlled vocabulary with explicit definitions (data elements) as well as protocols to communicate the context in which each data element is being used (syntactic structure). Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) provide a clear example of the challenges faced by clinicians when data is not interoperable. The proprietary data formats created by each CIED manufacturer, as well as the multiple sources of data generated by CIEDs (hospital, office, remote monitoring, acute care setting), make it challenging to aggregate even a single patient's data into an EHR. The Heart Rhythm Society and CIED manufacturers have collaborated to develop and implement international standard-based specifications for interoperability that provide an end-to-end solution, enabling structured data to be communicated from CIED to a report generation system, EHR, research database, referring physician, registry, patient portal, and beyond. EHR and other health information technology vendors have been slow to implement these tools, in large part, because there have been no financial incentives for them to do so. It is incumbent upon us, as clinicians, to insist that the tools of interoperability be a prerequisite for the purchase of any and all health information technology systems.