Patient and Provider Empowerment Through Data Usability: Why “Usability” Is the Next Interoperability Battleground

Interoperability has come a long way. We have national frameworks, mandated standards, data exchange requirements, rules that discourage information blocking, and countless initiatives aimed at helping data move across systems. On paper, we are closer to seamless connectivity than ever before.

But ask any clinician or patient whether the data they receive is actually usable, and you will get a very different story.

Data may be flowing, but much of it still arrives in formats that are cluttered, incomplete, non-standardized, buried in attachments, or disconnected from the workflow where decisions are made. This gap between “data is available” and “data is usable” has quickly become the next frontier in interoperability. Usability is where the real battleground sits, and it is where patients and providers feel the difference immediately.

The upcoming ASTP Annual Meeting panel on empowering patients and providers through smarter interoperability is a timely reflection of this shift. It is no longer enough to move data. We need to make it meaningful.

Why Data Usability Matters More Than Ever

Data usability refers to whether the information that arrives can be consumed, interpreted, and acted on without friction. It is about clinical clarity, workflow fit, and turning raw data into actionable knowledge.

For patients, usability means having access to their records in a way that is understandable and helpful, not overwhelming or fragmented. For providers, usability means receiving information that supports a clear clinical picture rather than creating more administrative burden.

Several factors are raising the stakes on usability:

• Care is more distributed across more settings. Patients receive care from hospitals, outpatient clinics, rural providers, behavioral health teams, EMS, specialists, and community organizations. Clinicians cannot chase data from each of these places. Data has to arrive ready to use.

• Clinical decisions move fast. Care teams need insights in real time, not static PDFs that require manual scanning or reconciliation.

• Patients expect clarity and control. Consumer health tools have raised expectations. People want clear information that allows them to participate in their care, not a digital shoebox of files.

• National policy is maturing. TEFCA onboarding, USCDI expansion, and information blocking enforcement are accelerating. The question is no longer whether data will flow, but whether that flowing data will be useful.

When usability fails, the whole purpose of interoperability breaks down.

USCDI: A Foundation for Usability, Not Just Exchange

The United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) is often discussed as a technical standard, but it is also a usability standard. By requiring participants to exchange the same set of structured, consistent data elements, USCDI lays the groundwork for information that looks and behaves the same across systems.

For providers, this creates a predictable experience. For patients, it means fewer missing elements, clearer histories, and improved transparency. For states, it means that analytics, care coordination, and public health programs all operate on a shared informational baseline.

Interoperability begins with uniformity, but it succeeds with usability.

Real-World Challenges: When Data Arrives but Cannot Be Used

Organizations implementing statewide exchange frameworks, such as California’s Data Exchange Framework (DxF), learned this firsthand. Data moved, but not always in standardized ways. Some EHR vendors lagged in USCDI adoption. Smaller providers struggled with mapping or extraction. As a result, what arrived in the receiving system was often inconsistent or incomplete.

Health information exchanges see this every day. Data theoretically exchanges. But if clinical notes are unstructured, med lists are inconsistent, or allergies arrive buried inside a PDF, providers end up doing manual work to make sense of it. That is not empowerment. It is friction.

The lesson is clear. Exchange alone does not guarantee value. Usability is the filter that decides whether the data helps or hinders care.

How Usable Data Empowers Patients

1. Patients gain clarity rather than confusion. Clear, structured data helps people understand diagnoses, labs, imaging, meds, and care plans without interpreting technical noise.

2. Records become a tool for self-advocacy. Patients can spot discrepancies, track trends, and share information confidently across providers.

3. Data transparency increases trust. When information matches across systems, patients feel reassured that their care team is seeing the same story they are.

4. Consumer health apps work better. USCDI and TEFCA alignment support third-party app integration, which means patients can use tools that matter to them, not just what their provider offers.

Patients cannot be empowered by data they cannot understand or use.

How Usable Data Empowers Providers

1. A complete clinical picture improves decisions. Providers can see timelines, diagnoses, vitals, meds, allergies, and encounters without decoding formats.

2. Less time reconciling, more time treating. Usability reduces administrative burden and cognitive load.

3. Safer handoffs across care settings. Rural, behavioral health, EMS, crisis services, and community providers all rely on consistent insights to manage transitions.

4. TEFCA becomes an asset, not a compliance task. When QHINs exchange usable data, the network actually enhances daily practice instead of just satisfying a requirement.

5. Usability is what makes interoperability clinically relevant.

TEFCA and the Next Phase of Interoperability

The current TEFCA landscape is opening doors for nationwide exchange. But the next phase will be defined by how usable that TEFCA-enabled data becomes.

Patients and providers should expect:

• fewer PDFs and more structured data

• more consistent USCDI-based content from all participants

• clearer medication and allergy histories

• cleaner summaries that reduce duplication

• more actionable analytics built on reliable inputs

TEFCA will succeed only when the data flowing through QHINs supports real decision-making, not just technical access.

Conclusion: Usability Is the Future of Interoperability

Data can move. That is no longer the hard part.

The hard part, and the next major battleground, is making sure the data that moves is genuinely usable for the people who depend on it. Patients need clear insights to take control of their care. Providers need structured, actionable information to make safe clinical decisions. States and HIEs need consistent data to power care coordination, public health, behavioral health integration, crisis response, rural health transformation, and Medicaid innovation.

Usability ties all of this together.

Interoperability wins when the people using the data feel empowered, informed, and connected. The healthcare system is finally close to that reality. Now it is time to finish the job.