An Interview with Ahmet Zor on Accessing EHRs: Shaping the Future of Clinical Viewer 360

We interviewed Ahmet Zor, our Project Delivery Manager, to explore the vital role of real-time access to patient data. Zor stated that while access to real-time patient information is crucial for effective clinical decision-making, it is often hindered by various interoperability challenges across different systems. He underscored that Tiga Healthcare Technologies’ Clinical Viewer 360 facilitates this access, creating a more integrated and responsive healthcare environment.  

Here’s the interview: 

1. First of all, could you explain the significance of access to real-time patient data for clinical decision-making? 

Access to real-time patient data plays a critical role in clinical decision-making. Timely access to updated laboratory results, vital signs, medication history, and previous diagnoses enables clinicians to accelerate diagnosis and treatment processes. Moreover, it prevents unnecessary or duplicate tests and supports responding promptly and effectively in emergency situations. Mainly, access to real-time patient data improves overall patient safety.  

Healthcare professionals feel empowered to make more informed and accurate clinical decisions with real-time access. 

2. What are the biggest challenges healthcare professionals face when accessing and managing electronic health records (EHRs) today?  

Healthcare professionals may encounter non-intuitive user interfaces; many EHR systems are complex and not designed with clinicians’ mind, resulting in increased cognitive load and time consumption. As restricted access is another challenge, retrieving prior medical history from external institutions or systems can be difficult or delayed in urgent situations. Also, redundant testing and duplicated efforts often arise due to missing or inaccessible information, wasting time and resources.  

These challenges might compromise both the quality and efficiency of clinical decision-making. 

3. How does limited interoperability between different EMR systems impact daily hospital workflows and clinical decision-making?  

Limited interoperability leads to a range of issues. First of all, it can bring data quality problems. Non-standardized collection of digital and paper-based records impairs data reliability. Furthermore, patient information is often scattered across multiple systems or decentralized platforms due to limited interoperability. In addition, conflicting records for the same patient may exist across disparate systems. Limited interoperability can also cause data silos; systems often operate in isolation, preventing seamless information exchange. At the end, it delays clinical decisions because incomplete or inaccessible information creates uncertainty, often leading to repeated testing or manual verification. 

These challenges introduce operational inefficiencies, increase patient safety risks, and undermine clinical outcomes. 

4. What are the key barriers to achieving seamless interoperability between different health information systems? 

Key obstacles include lack or incosistency of standards, variations in data formats, inadequate integration infrastructure, data privacy and security concerns, and competitive or policy-driven barriers between institutions and vendors.  

Although frameworks like HL7, FHIR, and CDA exist, their implementation and interpretation vary significantly. Also, differences between structured and unstructured data complicate system integration. Moreover, legacy systems and insufficient API support hinder seamless data exchange while regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA may restrict cross-institutional data sharing. 

Overcoming these challenges requires technical innovation, robust regulatory frameworks, collaborative governance, and the adoption of universally accepted health data standards.

5. Tiga Healthcare Technologies’ Clinical Viewer 360 brings together EHRs from multiple systems. How does this system handle interoperability challenges when integrating data from various sources? 

Clinical Viewer 360 addresses interoperability challenges through several advanced capabilities like vendor-agnostic integration, real-time and longitudinal data access, standards-based interoperability, flexible deployment, and scalable architecture.  

Our system aggregates patient records from disparate EHR systems, regardless of vendor, into a single, unified view, promoting true interoperability across institutions. It also provides access to a full longitudinal patient record, consolidating clinical documents, allergies, medications, labs, procedures, and imaging across systems. By using modern interoperability standards such as FHIR, HL7, and CDA, Clinical Viewer 360 ensures reliable and scalable data exchange across diverse clinical environments. This platform can be deployed as a standalone viewer or embedded directly into existing systems, supporting seamless integration into current clinical workflows. Furthermore, it can be integrated into both small-scale and enterprise-level hospital environments. 

By resolving health data and normalizing information in real time, Clinical Viewer 360 significantly enhances trust, accuracy, and transparency in clinical decision-making. 

6. Could you provide a use case where Clinical Viewer 360 demonstrably improves care coordination, the speed of clinical decision-making, or patient safety? 

Clinical Viewer 360 can facilitate emergency department admission across multiple institutions. For instance, a patient presents to the emergency department with symptoms requiring urgent intervention. The patient’s prior medical history, including medication records and lab results, is distributed across multiple institutions using different EHR systems. Through Clinical Viewer 360, the care team immediately accesses the patient’s consolidated longitudinal record, including lab results, medications, allergy data, and clinical documents without logging into multiple systems. Conclusion? Redundant testing is avoided, leading to significant cost savings and enhanced operational efficiency. Also, previously documented drug allergy is quickly identified, preventing a critical adverse reaction. Since the platform is vendor-agnostic and standards-compliant, all data is presented in a structured, traceable format that aligns with local documentation practices. This results in faster diagnosis, well-informed treatment decisions, improved coordination of care, and ultimately, enhanced patient safety. 

7. Which trends or shifts are likely to shape the future of healthcare interoperability and access to EHRs significantly over the next 10 years? 

Key future trends include wider adoption of FHIR and open APIs, AI-powered data reconciliation and clinical support systems, cloud-based health data platforms, patient-centered data ownership, evolving regulatory frameworks, and integration with mobile and wearable devices.  

FHIR and open APIs will facilitate universal and real-time data exchange. As an emerging technology, AI will enhance accuracy and efficiency in decision-making. Cloud-based platforms will enable seamless access regardless of location or institution. With patient-centricity, individuals will increasingly control and authorize access to their health information. Initiatives such as the European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS) and Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) will push for broader interoperability. Lastly, data from smartwatches and home monitoring tools will feed directly into EHRs. 

These shifts are expected to transform health IT ecosystems, making interoperability a core enabler of value-based care. 

Key Points of the Interview 

• Real-Time Data Access: Access to up-to-date patient information accelerates diagnosis and treatment processes. It also reduces unnecessary tests while increasing operational efficiency. This directly improves patient safety, especially in time-critical scenarios. 

• Common EHR Usability Barriers: Many EHR systems have poor user interface design and are not clinician-centered. This increases cognitive load and wastes time during high-pressure decision-making. Limited access to external records also leads to duplicated work and missed information. Tiga’s Clinical Viewer 360 eliminates these barriers by aggregating patient records from multiple systems into a single, unified view. 

• Future Trends in Healthcare Interoperability: The wider adoption of open standards like FHIR, the integration of AI for data reconciliation and clinical support, the rise of cloud-based platforms, and a shift towards patient-centered data ownership are all expected to transform health IT ecosystems. These developments will make interoperability a core component of delivering high-quality care. 

This enlightening interview with Ahmet Zor highlights the importance of access to real-time patient information in clinical decision-making. Tiga Healthcare Technologies’ Clinical Viewer 360 reflects this by providing healthcare professionals with a holistic view of their patients’ health stories, enhancing care coordination and patient safety. Through Zor’s insights, it becomes clear that both clinician and patient-centric technologies like Clinical Viewer 360 are vital in making accurate clinical decisions and delivering value-based care. 

Let’s shape the future together, as always!