Lack of Data Standards and Interoperability

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In several developed countries, a major issue is of data being in a different format in different systems, with the result that it cannot be shared between organizations and systems. This contributes to the poor quality of care and increased costs. This situation has come about due to a few private vendors cornering a sizeable slice of the market each. These companies view shared data formats as a threat to their own market and to their ambition of becoming monopolies. It is tempting for them to thwart any attempt to institute interoperability standards. As a result, though a large amount of data exists, most of it is in silos, not accessible to systems different from the one it was originally created in. India is at a risk of falling into a similar trap if a few vendors gain a foothold in the market before universal standards get established.