The demand for an HL7 interface developer has risen in recent times. While you may try to find one by putting up an ad for an HL7 developer, the cost of hiring, training, and keeping one is relatively high. Recent statistics show that the average annual salary of an HL7 developer is over $106,000. A better solution will be to work with a development partner. A reputable HL7 development partner can help you achieve your interoperability goals by:
1. Strategic Assessment of Your Interface Needs
Building an effective interface goes beyond creating software to connect two systems. You need to ensure that the interfaces you are building will meet your organization’s present and future goals.
For example, your interfaces should help you to:
- Reduce operational costs
- Improve turnaround times for diagnostic tests
- Minimize physician burnout
- Provide instant access to complete patient records
- Improve the quality of patient care
But that’s not all. Your interfaces should be able to grow as your organization expands.
Working with a consultant makes this possible. It also allows you to future-proof your interoperability projects by using the latest technology and complying with all established and proposed healthcare interoperability regulations.
2. Providing you with an Expert HL7 Integration Consultant
When you work with an HL7 development partner, you fortify your in-house IT team with a development expert. This will be someone who has a deep working knowledge of healthcare-specific software and medical data sharing apps and databases.
Your development expert will have a good understanding of several EHRs, LOINC, HealthShare, and HL7 protocols. Expert programming skills in languages like C# and Java will complement these.
3. Giving You Professional Guidance
There are many little decisions to make before you create an interface. Sometimes, taking these decisions may seem overwhelming, especially when you are new to HL7 interface development.
You will need to answer questions like:
- Do you build a uni-directional or bi-directional interface?
- Which is better for you: a point-to-point interface or an interface engine?
- Should you migrate your legacy app data or archive it?
- Which is better: using in-house servers or cloud-based technology?
Your consultant’s experience and expertise will make it easy to navigate the maze of tech decisions and help you create solutions that will improve operational efficiency and enhance patient care.
4. Training Your Team
Every time you upgrade your EHR or interface engine or build a new interface, you and your team will face a new learning curve. Fortunately, with your consultant’s help, you can quickly learn new ways of completing tasks and take full advantage of new systems and applications.
You can save a substantial amount of money on training and get prompt hands-on assistance when you need it.
5. Delivering a Robust EHR Interface Hub
Building an interface engine is not a trivial task. It requires substantial knowledge of different types of EHRs, lab and radiology information systems, health information exchanges, practice management, and billing systems.
Working with a consultant who has developed interfaces for these systems will save thousands of hours of trial and error. You will receive proven solutions that are affordable and timely.
Connect to a Reliable HL7 Interface Developer Today
We can deliver all the benefits listed above and much more. Call Lifepoint Informatics now at 877.522.8378 or visit our contact page to book a free demo of our EHR interface engine and other health IT solutions.