With advancement in technology and medicine, one will expect the cost of health to significantly reduce. This is not the case with the United States. According to data obtained from healthdata.org(2019), as of 2016, the United States spent over $3.4 trillion on health, accounting for almost half of the global expenditure. This total expenditure be it in per capita or as a percentage of GDP as Tulchinsky & Varavikkova (2014), noted “does not reflect the efficiency with which the resources are used. Many countries not only have low overall levels of health expenditure but also allocate those meager resources inefficiently.” It is therefore important to ensure that this rising cost is met with effective and efficient systems, where there is a reduction in readmission, lack of medication errors, decreased duplicate testing among others. With an ever increasing challenging medical environment, where patients visit many different medical facilities, primary care physicians and specialist, the probability of error is relatively high most especially with the lack thereof a unified system of data sharing and communication with standards across the board. However, as Green (2019), points out, – improving patient outcome and reducing cost isn’t just about data, it’s about utilizing such data effectively and turning it into a usable source. Thus the inability to utilize received data within receiving provider technologies is a major hindrance to interoperability. According to Orlova & Salyards(n.d.), semantic interoperability, which is the ability for senders and receivers of inform
ation to interpret and understand in the same way information captured and shared using health information technology (HIT) has proven to be somehow difficult to adopt for the following reason; -Clinically relevant information is not available for the task at hand -inadequate documentation -inaccurate information -irretrievable information. Given a variety of standard formats such as Clinical Document Architecture, the NCPDP SCRIPT Standard, the ASC X12N Health Care Claim, there is a need for a format that can bridge these multiple exchange formats, syntaxes, and semantics when sharing health information see Orlova & Salyards(n.d.). The NCPDP SCRIPT Standard helps coordinate prescription filling between provider and pharmacies electronically. This is important because it enables the transfer of large amount of information about medications and prescriptions quickly, ensuring patients receive the right medication, and dosage in a timely manner. The standardization of this systems will enhance medical data flow, understanding, and improve quality of care References: Green, Dolores (April 6, 2019).Commentary: Data-sharing can transform care, so let’s get connected. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from Orlova, A., & Salyards, K. (n.d.). Understanding Information in EHR Systems: Paving the Road for Semantic Interoperability through Standards. , (9), 44–47. Retrieved from Tulchinsky, Theodore H. & Varavikkova, Elena A. (2014). Measuring Costs: The Economics of Health. Retrieved from Healthdata.org(2019). Financing Global Health. Retrieved from Your responses should be complete and thorough,