Everwell Hub, as a comprehensive health system, offers a rich array of features and workflows. However, it acknowledges that it cannot encompass the entire spectrum of digital health data captured through manual or automated means. With the integration of numerous applications for diverse use cases to make the healthcare ecosystem, the exchange of information between health systems is faster than ever before. New technological innovations continue to bring forth more usable digital health information that extends beyond the bedside.
In line with this, the contributors of Everwell Hub are unwavering in their commitment to enrich the platform and establish an open, person-centered health IT infrastructure. We aim to make the platform to not only support disease-based workflows but also integrate seamlessly with data standards to facilitate the exchange of information among various providers within the ecosystem.
Interoperability Strategy
Our interoperability strategy encompasses several key aspects for achieving seamless communication and data exchange between different healthcare technology systems.
Standards Adoption: Expand our range of FHIR resources, SNOMED CT to ensure consistency and compatibility of data exchange. Looking ahead, our plans for the upcoming period revolve around developing our EMR workflow capabilities through various IHE profiles like PDQm and PMIR.
Data Harmonization: Establish mappings and data models that enable consistent representation and interpretation of healthcare information across different systems. In the current year, we have worked on providing real-time adherence data to the ecBss system built on DHIS2 in Uganda. Additionally, we have conducted a dry run of an integrated adherence module within the Commcare application for evriMed device monitoring and integrated with ITIS in Philippines. These experiences have enriched our user uptake, training and software maintenance practices.
Interfacing and Integration: Develop robust interfaces and integration capabilities to enable seamless communication between diverse healthcare systems, applications, and devices. Our dedication to improving interoperability extends to different national settings as well. For example, as India progresses towards building its integrated digital health infrastructure, ABDM, it becomes crucial to contribute core health data to ensure the quality of healthcare by embedding diverse workflows. This setup forms the foundation for interactions among Health Information Providers, Health Information Users, and Health Resource Providers, fostering sustainable universal health coverage. Everwell Hub (Ni-kshay in India) workflows would be modified to contain the optional integration with ABDM thus making it easier for the healthcare programs to set up without worrying about data exchanges with the national health stack.
Governance and Policy: Implement policies, procedures, and governance frameworks to ensure compliance, data privacy, security, and accountability in data sharing and exchange. Everwell is a certified ISO27001 organization and goes through periodic audits.
Infrastructure and Architecture: We make the API contracts and documentation readily available, ensuring transparency and accessibility for developers and system integrators. We have also containerized our solutions to support in-country hosting. Our roadmap includes building a scalable and flexible IT infrastructure that supports interoperability, including cloud-based solutions, API frameworks, and data repositories.
Collaboration and Partnership: Engage stakeholders, including NGOs, local software agencies, system integrators, government agencies to foster collaboration and drive interoperability initiatives.
Testing and Certification: Establish testing processes and certification programs to verify and validate the interoperability of healthcare systems, ensuring adherence to established standards and guidelines.
User Education and Training: Providing comprehensive training and support to healthcare professionals to effectively utilize our systems and leverage the benefits of seamless data exchange. Throughout the year, we have released multiple updates to the open-source codebase of Everwell Hub, offering diverse setup options. These include dockerized deployment using Instant HIE and setup through the Azure Marketplace, enhancing the efficiency of the installation process. However, we recognize the need to provide comprehensive guidance on system customization, configuration, and tuning. Therefore, we have planned and initiated various phases of documentation, starting with a simple Readme file for each module and a short playbook containing installation and setup instructions. By nurturing a knowledgeable community, we aim to encourage global contributions toward achieving interoperability with Everwell Hub and leveraging its versatile customization capabilities.
By continuously striving to enhance Everwell Hub's interoperability and integration capabilities, we are committed to advancing healthcare systems and promoting collaboration among diverse
stakeholders.