Network by the Numbers, Revisited: What Connected Devices Add to the HIE

AzHeC used to publish “Network by the Numbers” — a tally of participating organizations, connected providers, and the volume of transactions flowing through Arizona’s HIE. It was a useful way to make an abstract idea concrete: interoperability you can count.

The arithmetic has changed. A decade ago the data sources were mostly information systems: labs, registration, pharmacy. Today every connected device is a potential contributor. A smart infusion pump emits events. A bedside monitor streams vitals. A telehealth tablet relays a blood-pressure reading from a patient’s living room. Each is a new line in the tally.

That growth is an opportunity and a burden. More device data means richer clinical context and better safety surveillance — but only if the data is structured, identified, and trustworthy. A flood of unstandardized readings is noise, not signal.

Counting devices “by the numbers” today therefore means counting the interoperable ones: devices that emit standard messages, carry UDI, and integrate without a custom interface per unit. Before a device joins your tally, it should clear the bar set out in our interoperability buyer’s guide for connected devices.