The ability of different systems, devices, or applications to exchange data and work together without special effort from users.
Interoperability is what lets an email sent from one provider arrive in another provider's inbox, or a document created in one app open correctly in another. It depends on shared standards, open formats, and well-documented APIs.
The concept is especially important in healthcare, where patient data must move between hospitals, labs, pharmacies, and insurers. Standards such as HL7 FHIR are designed for this. In finance, open banking APIs aim to let customers move data between institutions. In blockchain, interoperability refers to moving assets and messages across different chains. Lack of interoperability creates silos, locks customers into vendors, and forces people to re-enter information repeatedly.
Application Programming Interface: a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or services from another.
Electronic Health RecordA digital version of a patient's medical history that can be shared securely among authorized healthcare providers.
FHIRFast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, an HL7 standard for exchanging healthcare data between systems using modern web APIs.
Open BankingA system in which banks securely share customer financial data with authorized third-party apps through APIs, with the customer's consent.
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