by Kristin Rowan, Editor

Part 1 of this series discussed the timeline and history of interoperability and the slow progress that has been made so far. Both in care at home and the broader health care system, interoperability seems to stall despite regulations and incentives for data sharing. Part 2 takes the discussion into the future when the next generation of care at home patients deals with data silos.

We (Gen Xers) have waited 15 years for HIEs to solve the free exchange of information between health systems. We have also watched and participated in the disparate system for our own healthcare and that of our parents and our children. We are in the unique predicament of needing care for three generations simultaneously. That in-between position gave us the nickname “The Sandwich Generation.” And we are ready to rock this boat!

Home care patients are still primarily baby boomers who did not grow up with technology embedded in everything they do. Their children, however, did. These are the adult children making decisions for their parents. They are the ones watching their parents sit through hours of Q&A to relay medical history that countless other doctors already have. They are the ones asking “why?”. They know there’s a better way and they expect you to find it.

But, Gen Xers are also independent, resourceful, and adaptable. We are tech-savvy and have a no-nonsense attitude toward authority. We are the generation that doesn’t wait for technology to get better; we create our own. And since our young employees (and our children) eat, sleep, and breathe technology, you can bet the solution will be innovative and quick.

The next generation of home health patients are approaching 60 and will be eligible for Medicare in 5 years. 2030 is your deadline for interoperability. When our doctors, insurance providers, and home health agencies tell them that information portability isn’t possible, they will not take that answer lying down. When the hospital asks them to drive across town to their imaging center, wait for the imaging center to transfer their results to a CD, and then deliver the physical copy to the hospital (yes, my hospital system made me do this), we will demand to know why.

The AI solutions that I’ve seen in the last few years have been innovative, creative, and fascinating. I believe in my fellow Gen Xers and the possibilities that lay before us. I believe that we all have the right to access our own health information, including visits, test results, imaging, notes, and recommendations. And I believe we have the building blocks to unify health records for every patient in real time. If I only I had the coding skills to build it. Maybe I should ask my kids. 

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Kristin Rowan has been working at The Rowan Report since 2008. She is the owner and Editor-in-chief of The Rowan Report, the industry’s most trusted source for care at home news, and speaker on Artificial Intelligence and Lone Worker Safety and state and national conferences.

She also runs Girard Marketing Group, a multi-faceted boutique marketing firm specializing in content creation, social media management, and event marketing.  Connect with Kristin directly kristin@girardmarketinggroup.com or www.girardmarketinggroup.com

©2025 by The Rowan Report, Peoria, AZ. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The Rowan Report. One copy may be printed for personal use: further reproduction by permission only. editor@therowanreport.com