System interoperability and data linkage in the era of health information management: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Across the world, health data generation is growing exponentially. The continuous rise of new and diversified technology to obtain and handle health data places health information management and governance under pressure. Lack of data linkage and interoperability between systems undermines best efforts to optimise integrated health information technology solutions. Objective: This research aimed to provide a bibliometric overview of the role of interoperability and linkage in health data management and governance. Method: Data were acquired by entering selected search queries into Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science databases and bibliometric data obtained were then imported to Endnote and checked for duplicates. The refined data were exported to Excel, where several levels of filtration were applied to obtain the final sample. These sample data were analysed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, USA), WORDSTAT (Provalis Research, Montreal, Canada) and VOSviewer software (Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands). Results: The literature sample was retrieved from 3799 unique results and consisted of 63 articles, present in 45 different publications, both evaluated by two specific in-house global impact rankings. Through VOSviewer, three main clusters were identified: (i) e-health information stakeholder needs; (ii) e-health information quality assessment; and (iii) e-health information technological governance trends. A residual correlation between interoperability and linkage studies in the sample was also found. Conclusion: Assessing stakeholders’ needs is crucial for establishing an efficient and effective health information system. Further and diversified research is needed to assess the integrated placement of interoperability and linkage in health information management and governance. Implications: This research has provided valuable managerial and theoretical contributions to optimise system interoperability and data linkage within health information research and information technology solutions.