Despite government mandates and advancements in technology, EHR interoperability remains a significant challenge for clinicians. A recent KLAS report highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with external data integration, hindering efficient care delivery and contributing to clinician burnout.
In this exclusive interview, Scott Sirdevan, CEO of Vorro, a leading provider of no-code data integration solutions, provides expert insights into the complexities of interoperability in healthcare. He explores the shortcomings of current standards, the real costs of poor data integration, and the potential of fully managed solutions to transform healthcare workflows.
Despite the push for interoperability, why are current standards still failing clinicians? What are the key gaps and shortcomings that need to be addressed?
Scott Sirdevan, CEO of Vorro: Despite all the progress we’ve made with interoperability in healthcare, we’re still seeing significant challenges on the ground. From my deep involvement in this space, several critical gaps need addressing.
The legacy system problem remains one of our biggest hurdles. Many healthcare organizations are still running on older systems that simply weren’t built to talk to modern platforms. As a result, clinicians end up with duplicate data, and inaccurate information, and struggle to extract what they actually need to help their patients.
While standards like HL7’s FHIR have advanced our capabilities, implementation varies wildly across organizations. Without proper enforcement and limited customization options, healthcare organizations are left to figure out complex data mapping and conversion on their own, pulling resources away from what really matters: patient care.
Semantic interoperability presents another critical challenge. Even when systems can exchange data, confusion often arises about what that data means across different organizations. It’s essentially speaking the same language with different dialects, leading to misinterpretations and errors that can impact patient care.
Perhaps most critically, patient record matching continues to challenge the industry. Without a universal patient identifier, linking patient data accurately across different systems creates fragmented records and potential safety issues.
A recent KLAS report highlighted significant dissatisfaction among clinicians regarding external data integration. What are the most common pain points they experience, and how are these impacting patient care?
Scott Sirdevan: I’ve been closely following the challenges highlighted in the recent KLAS report regarding clinician dissatisfaction with external data integration. From our interactions with healthcare providers, we’ve identified several common pain points that are significantly impacting patient care.
One of the most pressing issues is the inconsistency and inaccessibility of critical patient information. Clinicians often struggle to locate relevant data quickly, as it’s frequently buried within irrelevant or duplicated records. This leads to delays in patient care, reduced efficiency, and, in some cases, risks compromising the accuracy of clinical decision-making in time.
Another major challenge stems from the prevalence of legacy systems in healthcare. Many providers are still operating with outdated systems that don’t align with modern interoperability standards. This creates significant barriers to seamless data exchange and integration.
These issues have far-reaching consequences for patient care. When clinicians can’t access the information they need efficiently, it not only slows down the care process but can also lead to incomplete patient histories, potentially missed diagnoses, or unnecessary repeat tests and procedures.
The solution requires a dual approach: creating better bridges between legacy systems and modern standards, while developing smarter tools that surface relevant patient information at the point of care. We’ve focused our efforts on developing middleware solutions that effectively translate between old and new systems, significantly improving efficiency across organizations.
To address these challenges, the industry needs to focus on developing solutions that can bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern interoperability standards. We also need to prioritize tools that can intelligently surface the most relevant patient information directly within clinical workflows. Deploying a middleware solution that acts as a segue between siloed and archaic data formats and modern, intelligent platforms, can go a long way in enhancing efficiency across the board.
What role do EHR vendors play in addressing interoperability challenges? Are they doing enough to support seamless data exchange between different systems?
Scott Sirdevan: I believe EHR vendors play a crucial role in addressing interoperability challenges, but there’s significant room for improvement. The US healthcare system’s scale, serving over 331 million people with $4.1 trillion in spending as of 2020, highlights the magnitude of our data integration challenge.
While most healthcare providers have adopted certified EHR systems, the real test lies in how well these systems communicate and share data. EHR vendors need to focus on developing more scalable, future-proof integration solutions to handle the growing volume of data from telemedicine, patient portals, and mobile health apps.
At Vorro, we advocate for embracing modern integration platforms like Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service (EiPaaS). These offer the flexibility and scalability needed to adapt to evolving healthcare technology needs. EHR vendors should also prioritize standardized APIs for seamless system communication and real-time data processing to enable quick, informed decision-making.
From our experience, features like intelligent alerting systems and auto-scaling capabilities are crucial for maintaining performance as data volumes grow. EHR vendors should incorporate these to ensure their systems can handle increasing loads without compromising speed or reliability.
Ultimately, while progress has been made, EHR vendors need to do more to support seamless data exchange. By focusing on scalable, future-proof integration solutions, we can help healthcare organizations improve productivity, enhance patient care, reduce costs, and maintain robust security, positioning the healthcare system to adapt to future technological advancements and changing patient expectations.
What are the real costs associated with leaving data integration to overburdened healthcare organizations? How does this impact efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, patient outcomes?
Scott Sirdevan: Healthcare organizations constantly deal with newer complications, often requiring reference to patient history data. Ideally, healthcare organizations must focus on providing patient care while leaving data integration to specialist partners. This way, historic and current patient data can be intelligently merged to unlock valuable insights, consequently leading to better outcomes. In other words, healthcare organizations must solve healthcare challenges, not data integration challenges.
Can you provide specific examples of how poor interoperability can lead to delays in care, medical errors, or increased healthcare costs?
Scott Sirdevan: The impact of poor interoperability manifests in several concrete ways across healthcare delivery. Consider these real-world scenarios:
In diagnosis, when healthcare systems can’t share patient information effectively, physicians often must order redundant tests because they can’t access previous results. A patient with documented allergies might undergo unnecessary repeated testing simply because that information lives in another provider’s system, creating dangerous delays in treatment.
Medication management presents another critical area of concern. When patients see multiple specialists using different electronic health records, communication gaps about prescribed medications emerge. This can result in dangerous drug interactions or duplications simply because one doctor isn’t aware of prescriptions from another provider.
On the administrative side, inconsistent data sharing frequently leads to billing errors. Claims submitted with incomplete or inaccurate information face denial, triggering additional administrative costs as providers work to rectify these issues. This creates a financial burden that affects both healthcare providers and patients.
How does the lack of interoperability contribute to clinician burnout and dissatisfaction?
Scott Sirdevan: Interoperability challenges stand as a primary driver of clinician burnout, compounding the existing staffing shortages in healthcare. Poor interoperability consistently ranks as the top pain point among healthcare providers and with good reason.
The daily reality of navigating multiple incompatible systems creates a significant cognitive burden. Clinicians spend valuable time on manual data entry and context switching, while constantly managing the risk of errors from fragmented information. This technical friction directly impacts job satisfaction and professional well-being.
The ripple effects extend to talent acquisition and retention. Modern healthcare professionals expect environments where they can focus on delivering quality care rather than managing technical barriers. Investing in interoperable solutions becomes crucial for creating an appealing, supportive work environment that helps address industry-wide staffing challenges.
How can fully managed solutions, like those offered by Vorro, help reduce the burden on healthcare organizations and improve data accuracy?
Scott Sirdevan: I can confidently say that our fully managed solutions are revolutionizing how healthcare organizations handle data integration. Our BridgeGateHealth platform is designed specifically to reduce the burden on healthcare providers while simultaneously improving data accuracy.
One of the key ways we achieve this is by eliminating the need for coding. This is crucial because it means healthcare organizations don’t have to rely on scarce and expensive technical resources to achieve robust data integration. Instead, we provide a visual mapping and workflow editor that makes the process intuitive and efficient.
Moreover, our solution offers centralized control of data integration. This not only improves scalability but also enhances security and compliance, factors that are absolutely critical in the healthcare industry. We’ve invested heavily in ensuring our platform meets the stringent regulatory requirements that healthcare providers face.
What are the key advantages of outsourcing data integration and interoperability initiatives to specialized providers?
Scott Sirdevan: I’ve observed several key advantages of outsourcing data integration and interoperability initiatives to specialized providers.
Firstly, specialized providers offer deep expertise in complex areas like FHIR and HL7 standards, as well as the four levels of interoperability. This specialized knowledge can be challenging and costly for healthcare organizations to develop in-house.
Outsourcing often leads to cost savings, as specialized providers can leverage economies of scale and existing infrastructure. It also allows healthcare organizations to stay current with rapidly evolving technologies and regulations without dedicating internal resources to this ongoing challenge.
By entrusting interoperability to specialists, healthcare providers can focus on their core competency, patient care. Specialized providers also bring a broader perspective, sharing best practices and insights gained from diverse experiences across multiple organizations.
Furthermore, outsourcing can accelerate implementation through established methodologies and tools, potentially reducing the time to achieve meaningful interoperability.
What role will AI and machine learning play in enhancing data integration and interoperability in healthcare?
Scott Sirdevan: I’m incredibly excited about the potential of AI and machine learning in the realm of healthcare interoperability. In the near future, I envision AI-driven analytics providing even deeper insights from integrated data. This could lead to more personalized and efficient patient care, which is ultimately what we’re all striving for in the healthcare industry.
Machine learning algorithms could potentially automate much of the data mapping process, making integrations even faster and more accurate. They could also help in identifying patterns and anomalies in data flows, enhancing data quality and integrity.
We’re actively exploring how to incorporate these technologies into our platform. Our goal is to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, continually evolving our solutions to meet the changing needs of the healthcare industry.
Ultimately, we believe that AI and machine learning will not just improve data integration, but will transform how healthcare organizations use their data, leading to better population health management and more effective healthcare delivery systems.
Why is 2025 poised to be a pivotal year for the adoption of no-code platforms in achieving seamless interoperability?
Scott Sirdevan: First, we’re seeing a perfect storm of market conditions. Healthcare organizations are under immense pressure to do more with less while simultaneously improving patient care and outcomes. The labor shortages in health IT aren’t going away, and there’s an urgent need to automate processes without adding technical debt.
What makes 2025 particularly interesting is the convergence of several key factors:
The maturation of API-first architectures and FHIR adoption has created a foundation that no-code platforms can finally leverage effectively. It’s no longer about basic point-to-point connections, we’re talking about sophisticated orchestration that business users can control.
What excites me most is how advances in AI and machine learning are being integrated into no-code platforms. This isn’t just about making connections; it’s about intelligent data mapping.
For the first time, we’re seeing no-code tools that can truly match the capabilities of traditional coded solutions while being accessible to a much broader user base.
Healthcare organizations are also reaching a breaking point with their technical debt from legacy systems. They need solutions that can modernize their integration infrastructure without requiring a complete overhaul of existing systems. No-code platforms in 2025 are uniquely positioned to bridge this gap.
I believe we’re at the tipping point where the benefits of no-code interoperability, rapid deployment, reduced maintenance burden, and democratized integration capabilities, align perfectly with the pressing needs of the healthcare industry. This isn’t just about technology adoption; it’s also about enabling healthcare organizations to be more agile and responsive to change while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance.
Let me wrap up by emphasizing that 2025 isn’t just another year of incremental progress, it’s when we’ll see no-code platforms move from being an alternative approach to becoming the preferred solution for achieving true interoperability in healthcare.
About Scott Sirdevan
Scott Sirdevan is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vorro, a company specializing in providing innovative integration solutions across various industries, including healthcare, e-commerce, and insurance. With a strong commitment to innovation and seamless integration, Vorro offers a no-code enterprise platform that simplifies processes and boosts efficiency for organizations of all sizes.
