Surescripts CEO sees 'a much more interconnected and digitized healthcare system' ahead

Now that nearly all of the nation's hospitals and the vast majority of Its office-based physicians have adopted electronic' health record systems, the focus has shifted to getting these disparate systems to exchange patient Information. Surescripts has been at the center of the push for health data-sharing. The private health information exchange network, formed in 2008 with the merger of two rival e-prescribing networks, is jointly owned by two pharmacy trade groups-the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association-and pharmacy benefit management companies CVS Health and Express Scripts. Surescripts recently reported ithandled 9.7 billion electronic transactions in 2015-48% more than the previous year. Modern Healthcare health IT reporter-Joseph Conn interviewed Surescripts CEO Tom Skelton about the role of e-prescribing in achieving meaningful interoperability. This is an edited transcript.