The True Cost Of Data Integration In Healthcare

What are the true costs of data integration?

The true cost of data integration depends on how it is implemented. If a healthcare practice provides its own data to app developers, the practice is seemingly closer to getting the data in the format it requires.

But there are plenty of hidden costs that show why a good integration platform is necessary...

• Cost to practice: Practices that provide data to app developers, must invest considerable upfront resources. Employee time adds up – if one employee spends an average of one hour per week extracting data, that’s 52 hours a year, which is more than a week’s salary for one full-time employee. Time that could be spent on other business initiatives.

• Dependence on other systems: An app developer could decide to use data from an existing interface that was built for another purpose. For example, a practice might receive a quote for a specific data extraction, but it’s dependent on having another interface up and running. Once another interface enters the equation, there are potentially additional costs and additional requirements. The additional interface could require significant time for the employee to run, which is not good news for any of the entities involved. When looking for bids, consider all the prerequisites along with the upfront quote.

• Maintenance costs of other interfaces: When an integration system depends on other interfaces, the cost of maintaining those other interfaces must be taken into consideration. If they’re not working, the new integration isn’t working, either. It’s a cumulative effect – and the results could be disastrous for a company that is trying to extract data for use in a specialized app. In this digital era, people have become used to being able to access information quickly and efficiently. A system that is difficult to use or frequently breaks down is not worth their time, and they will seek other options.

• Alternatives: Using an integration platform such as Healthjump, that doesn’t rely on other interfaces and is self-sustaining and reliable, saves companies money in both implementation and maintenance costs.

The total cost of integration can be tricky but access to extracted data that can be used in multiple applications and adapted to the changing demands of the healthcare industry is a smart way to for businesses to grow and change along with it.

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