One of the criteria for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) is the ability to share data among providers to deliver patient care that has no gaps and promotes collaboration. American Pathology Partners is implementing Halfpenny Technologies' interoperability platform for an additional reason, which is equally important in this rapidly changing healthcare environment.

The national pathology laboratory provider already works with physician practices that have EMR systems. Being able to connect to the various systems and send and to receive data from these disparate systems creates clinical and administrative efficiencies for both APP and the physician groups. By creating those efficiencies for its customers, APP is "strengthening its provider relationships," as stated by APP's chief development officer Thanasis Papaioanu.

In today's healthcare environment in which cost and quality data is turning everyone in the ecosystem, from patients to providers, into empowered consumers, strengthening one's provider relationships is a really smart business strategy. APP is positioning itself, technologically speaking, to accommodate all EMR systems that it encounters. With the HITECH Act's stimulus funds incentivizing physician groups, being prepared with an interoperable infrastructure is thinking ahead. With its world becoming ever more complicated, physician groups will work with those organizations that it can easily do business with. The less they have to deal with interfacing and other technologies to connect with their business partners, the better partners they'll be. I'm sure PP understands that.

Will other business partners of physician groups create a connectivity path to EHRs to deliver better service? I think forward-thinking healthcare companies will definitely follow. And HIE platform companies can add "strengthens provider relationships" as another great marketing strategy when approaching those business partners.