Integration vs. interface.

To conclude, system interfaces and system integration have specific uses based on the individual hospital's assessment of current and future needs. For the short-term, interfaces can provide a level of increased functionality without the upheaval of current operations. On the long-term considerations, the cost may factor negatively against the hospital's long-term information requirements and its inability to move and adapt quickly as the healthcare environment changes. Integrated systems, while requiring conversion from current interfaced systems, provide the functions and flexibility that serve a hospital's immediate and long-term information needs and enable it to survive in an increasingly-volatile healthcare environment.