Interoperability is Coming — at Last

Perhaps no industry better straddles the dichotomy between cutting-edge technology and inefficient obsolete devices than the healthcare industry.

In one corner of a hospital, a physician in another room (or another state) can perform precision surgery using state-of-the-art robotics, while just down the hall a nurse receives the patient’s medical records via fax machine and the patient’s spouse uses a pen to fill out paperwork.

Those throwbacks exist for many reasons, but perhaps the most important is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996...