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Rhapsody Health Solutions Team

11 reasons to upgrade your integration engine

There are many reasons hospitals and healthcare providers make the decision to replace existing enterprise technology such as an integration engine. Frequently, the changes are not made simply to upgrade to better technology, but rather expedited because the provider’s current technology is being sunsetted by the vendor or for other business considerations such as qualifying for Meaningful Use or adopting complimentary technology during a corporate merger.

In the case of interface or integration engines, organizations upgrade their existing integration/interface engine just as often for upgraded software performance and features.

Organizations often switch to Corepoint Integration Engine at the same time they are upgrading EHR systems to Epic or Cerner, for example. Since new interfaces would need to be created regardless of the engine in place, hospitals make the decision to upgrade to a modern integration engine that offers many advantages over the “dinosaurs” in place that, while functioning, do not offer modern features and require a significant amount of staff hours to create simple interfaces and to monitor the interfaces for unplanned downtime.

Additional reading: 10 tips for a successful migration to Epic

Additional reading: Tips for a successful migration to Cerner

Many legacy interface engines do not offer features that bring together all the data the IT team needs to smartly improve patient care. Here are 11 unique benefits that Corepoint Health customers enjoy as they work to modernize heath IT:

1. Own your patient data

Your organization has spent millions in healthcare technology including electronic health information systems for each department in the hospital. But, despite all the work hours and expense, patient data is siloed in separate systems and databases dedicated to a specific EHR. Stop relying on vendors to build and maintain your interfaces – you can own the data running through every workflow in your organization and have it available where you want it, when you want it, and where it is needed for patient care.

2. Fully reap the benefits of existing technologies

You’ve done due diligence to select and install best-of-breed applications for your organization. You’ve received the funds and the buy in from your colleagues for each “go live.” You have the best and the greatest in health IT, yet each investment is limited in what it can accomplish because it cannot access and incorporate the full patient picture because your applications are not interoperable. Without full data integration, caregivers are unable to utilize the patient data as intended, to your patients’ best interest. Corepoint Integration Engine provides “drag and drop” flexibility to create interfaces between applications that CIOs refer to when they seek to create a “connected health IT ecosystem.”

3. Improve patient care

An integration engine doesn’t provide the care, but the nurses and the physicians and other caregivers that do care for patients are often limited by the data available to them at the point of care. A full portrait of the patient’s care history provides context and insights that can provide the highest levels of quality care. An integration engine allows caregivers to make the best decisions with the current data, at the time of care, where needed.

4. Allow your IT department to do more

Interfaces, integration and data analyses no longer require programmers hunched over a developer’s dashboard. Corepoint Integration Engine allows analysts to develop working, bulletproof interfaces in hours, rather than days or weeks. Imagine the additional accomplishments your team would achieve if they could ditch using outdated code to build interfaces in outdated interface engines such as eGate, BizTalk, Cloverleaf, and Mirth? New Corepoint Health customers have converted as many as 90 interfaces and 140 translations in less than three months – with just one analyst doing the work!

5. Scalability as you grow

Hospitals and health systems are expanding and consolidating more quickly than ever. Whether your organization is acquiring new hospitals or systems or remaining independent, the increasing demands of your patients’ health data are also at an all-time high. With Corepoint Integration Engine you have the ability to quickly scale to stay ahead of future data demands. Using Microsoft SQL server technology rather than UNIX servers, you can smartly expand your infrastructure one step at a time, as needed, in a cost-effective manner that allows CIOs to quickly show positive return on investment.

6. Stay Ahead. Be proactive, not reactive

With Corepoint Integration Engine what you can accomplish is not limited by the technology, only by your creativity. You’ll have at your disposal all data exchange methods in use in healthcare, and your team will be able to confidently tackle any integration or unique workflow task that involves patient data. A modern integration engine gives your department the edge and the ability to answer the standard question from the executive team: “What do you need to help us meet these goals?”

7. Transform your organization/system into an industry leader

It’s not selfish to lead by example with vision, creativity and action. With Corepoint Integration Engine you will have the necessary features to turbo charge your activities and become recognized as a regional, state, and even national leader. Modern patients have greater demands of their choice of health care provider and your team will be ready to fully meet their growing demands and demonstrate what else they should expect from a leading, connected hospital. With Corepoint Integration Engine in place, you’ll have the technology to prove it!

8. Keep costs low

For decades we viewed UNIX-based applications as the gold standard for reliability in healthcare. Those days are in the past. Windows has surpassed Linux applications in terms of ease of use, lower costs, and the ability to scale quickly and painlessly. All this with security and reliability that is rated equal to or higher than costly, programmer-centric UNIX systems.
You will also save costs on staffing by deploying a Windows-based integration engine. Experienced Windows employees no only demand lower salaries than more experienced, UNIX analysts, they are much easier to find and more eager to prove their worth and kick start their careers in healthcare IT.

9. Peace of mind

Failover, testing, disaster recovery, and mobile monitoring are Corepoint Health features that provide unparalleled peace of mind for IT analysts, developers and managers so they can take on new projects without hesitation.

Additionally, CIOs will have the peace of mind that they have partnered with the leading healthcare interoperability platform in all of health care. Corepoint Integration Engine will always have the top functionality that is tested and proven in a real-world setting with a U.S.-based support staff available 24/7.

10. Accessibility to all available data exchange methods

In a modern healthcare system, the interface team needs access to all the available standards in use in healthcare. Limited choices result in limited choices to improve workflow, data quality and patient care. Corepoint Health customers have the confidence they can tackle any data exchange challenge, not only because Corepoint Integration Engine contains all the top methods for exchange in healthcare, including Web Services (SOAP and RESTful), Direct Project, TCP/IP, FTP, and all standards in use such as web services, all versions of HL7, and XML.

The added confidence our customers have is that they know Corepoint Health employees have been active participants and leaders in global healthcare standards development for the past 17 years with HL7 International and will continue to take on leading roles to ensure interoperability becomes a reality for all of healthcare.

11. Foster teamwork – Include colleagues in your interoperability activities

Interfaces and patient data need not be solely the realm of the IT department. Patients and their data are vitally important for all departments, so excluding them from the feeds and monitoring their departmental interfaces creates the same type of work siloes that are all-too common in large organizations.

Unique User Profiles allows your team to grant access to any user in the organization to monitor, debug and troubleshoot interfaces. Providing this additional access doesn’t “pass the buck,” but instead fosters a spirit of teamwork that will lead to greater understanding and participation in future IT initiatives.

Take control of your organization’s health data and lead.

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