Interoperability optimization in healthcare collaboration networks

Interoperability is one of the most challenging concerns that face healthcare information system (HIS) actors. Interoperability implementation in this context may be a data exchange interfacing, a service oriented interaction or even a composition of new composite healthcare processes. In fact, optimizing efforts of interoperability achievement is a key requirement to effectively setup, develop and evolve intra- and interorganizational collaboration. To ensure interoperability project effectiveness, this paper proposes a modeling representation of health processes interoperability evolution. Interoperability degrees of involved automated processes are assessed using a ratio metric, taking into account all significant aspects, such as potentiality, compatibility and operational performance. Then, a particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is used as a heuristic optimization method to find the best distribution of effort needed to establish an efficient healthcare collaborative network.