DXC launches cloud health platform in interoperability push

DXC Technology has launched a digital health platform designed to assist interoperability between healthcare providers.

DXC Open Health Connect is an effort to link up disparate healthcare IT systems so that care providers can more easily share information that has the potential to improve patient care.

The cloud-based platform offers a digital toolkit consisting of an analytics module, an interoperability module and a set of APIs through which new healthcare applications can be launched.

It also allows care providers to integrate various sets of data across their network, including care records that can be accessed by clinicians across different IT settings.

Andrea Fiumicelli, VP and general manager of healthcare and life sciences at DXC Technology, suggested this was key to transforming the way care was delivered to patients, by “[turning] traditional healthcare systems into major digital health enablers.”

Fiumicelli added: “As the healthcare industry moves away from a volume-based model in favour of outcomes-based programs, interoperability and data sharing — financial, clinical and operational — will be key to achieving enhanced patient care.

“The future of connected healthcare will be about collaboration and care within and beyond the walls of a hospital or clinic.”

Open Health Connect supports population health management by allowing healthcare providers to generate an integrated care record,  access contextual information and identify at-risk patients.

In doing so, patient populations who may be in danger of falling ill can be offered pre-emptive support, thus reducing their chances of being admitted to hospital and helping eliminate care costs.

It also allows for the cloud-based deployment of DXC Technology’s mobile applications, such as PatientAide, NurseAide and ClinicalAide.

Neil Jordan, general manager of Worldwide Health Industry at Microsoft, said: “Cloud technologies are helping health organisations around the world deliver better outcomes for patients.

“We’re excited to collaborate with DXC to bring their Open Health Connect platform to Microsoft Azure for the benefit of our mutual customers.”