We are ushering in a new era of radical interoperability.

And with it comes a series of technologies that will drive disruption for the future of health IT in 2021 and beyond.

Everything from artificial intelligence to wearable devices to API's are poised to fuel our industry’s digital transformation.

In a recent webinar, iShare Medical founder and CEO, Linda Van Horn, took a forward-looking view into some of the tech that we think will enhance the healthcare industry — for patients, providers, and payers alike.

The 3 Pillars Supporting New Payment and Care Models in 2021

Let’s face it. COVID-19 really highlighted the U.S. health system’s inability to effectively and efficiently exchange and use health information. In turn, it accelerated the need for nationwide interoperability, and all that comes with it. We can no longer afford to be “data hoarders,” instead, we are ushering in a new decade of transformation in healthcare, one in which the winners will move away from siloed data to radical interoperability. We believe that there are three foundational pillars for this decade of health IT transformation.


Anchored by these three pillars, here are our predictions for health IT in 2021.

Prediction #1: Digital Identity will drive the industry forward.

Without identity, there is no trust.

And often, the problem we have in any digital situation is knowing whether or not we’re communicating with a real person/the right person.


How do you really know that the provider, doctor, or even patient behind that device or email is who they say they are? Digitally speaking, we simply must know who we’re talking to before we can establish trust and share information. In order to establish a legitimate and trustworthy digital identity, there are 3 steps:

1. Prove physical identity with IDs, passports, following a standard for identity proofing from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The current health care system supports an older standard called NIST 800-63-2 at Level of Assurance 3 (LoA3) or the newer standard called NIST 800-63-3 IAL2. NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 digital identity standard is required by the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA).
   
   
2. Assign a unique digital identity Certificate using two pairs of cryptographic keys, one key pair for encryption and the other for digital signature using the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
   
   
3. Bind the digital and physical identities together to provide non-refutable and verifiable proof of identity.

2021 will give rise to a “never trust, always prove and verify your identity” environment. That verification will come from an out of band dynamic client authentication server using standards required by the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) that will provide a third-party verification of the real, non-refutable identity such that the identity can be trusted by the relying party.

Prediction #2: Interoperability goes mainstream.

Interoperability will become more widespread for improved care coordination and patient monitoring:

From programs like Chronic Care Management by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)…to closed loop referrals…to patient monitoring…to smart IoT medical devices…COVID-19 vaccination proof, and more — interoperability is going to transform and improve the care coordination landscape. With secure data sharing “always on,” expect an explosion of data in 2021.

The constant exchange and secure use of critical health information will become more radical and pervasive in the coming year to include:

1. Event notifications and ADT (admissions, discharge, and transfer) notifications
2. Remote patient monitoring
           - FDA approved devices that transmit data such as cardiac pacemakers, insulin pumps, and implantable spinal cord              stimulators
           - Wearable devices like a continuous glucose monitor, Apple Watches, FitBit
           - Internet of Things (IoT) – smart beds that take a patient’s weight and other information, for example
3. COVID-19 vaccination proof

And it will also become more widespread for consumer/patient access and empowerment:

Through application program interface (API), patients will finally have uncomplicated and unprecedented access to their health information.

Prediction #3: Learning health systems will begin transforming the industry.

There’s nothing more 21st Century than harnessing cognitive computing to think more like a human. By automating processes and advancing from the results of its analysis and outcomes, learning health systems are capable of:

1. Analyzing what happened in the past (how they’ve traditionally been used)
   
   
2. Monitoring what is happening now (becoming more prominent — lab results, for example, like blood sugar in real time using a continuous glucose monitor with as well as over time such as hemoglobin A1C lab test)
   
   
3. Predicting what will most likely happen in the future (the ultimate goal of the learning health system, allowing us to help detect, prevent, and treat diseases sooner)
   
   
   
   

Prediction #4: Virtual care becomes more prominent.

Take a Deeper Dive into the Future of Healthcare IT