A Framework for the Evaluation of Integration Technology Approaches in Healthcare

A fundamental requirement for achieving continuity of care and supporting clinical and administrative work in healthcare organizations is commonly accepted to be the integration and interoperability of both valuable legacy systems and new technologies. However, there is much marketplace confusion today in the healthcare domain, due to the variety of overlapping or complementary integration technology approaches, standards, and activities, which have evolved over the years addressing different interoperability levels. This paper aims to present the challenges and alternative approaches for integrating heterogeneous healthcare information systems, and propose an evaluation framework, in order to provide healthcare decision-makers and system integrators with a clear perspective regarding the assessment of available technology integration approaches in healthcare organizations.