October 5, 2026
In recent years, hospitals in Romania have invested in IT systems, digital infrastructure, and state-of-the-art medical equipment. HIS, PACS, laboratory systems, monitoring applications, and other digital solutions are already in use at many healthcare facilities. The next challenge, however, is no longer just digitization, but rather the ability of these systems to communicate with one another and transform existing data into useful information for doctors and patients.
This is one of the main conclusions of the first meeting of the National Working Group on the Interoperability of Information Systems in Romania’s Public Hospitals, which brought together, on September 24, representatives of hospitals, doctors, IT specialists, public authorities, organizations, and digital solution providers. The group’s objective is to identify the main obstacles and formulate concrete recommendations on interoperability that can serve as a guide for both hospitals and institutions involved in the development of the digital health ecosystem.
We have digital systems. The problem is that they don't communicate enough.
The experiences shared by hospitals have shown that the problem is no longer necessarily a lack of technology, but rather its fragmentation. At Marie Curie Hospital, for example, integrating HIS, DICOM, monitoring systems, medication management systems, and medical equipment has proven difficult, despite the investments made. “We’ve all invested in IT systems and found ourselves at a standstill, ” summarized Dr. Cătălin Cîrstoveanu.
The goal of the next phase is for IT systems to reduce redundant work for physicians and enable the integration of clinical data, including data coming directly from medical devices. Similar issues have been reported in connecting HISs with PACS, laboratories, monitoring systems, or other applications. The common conclusion: interoperability must be designed from the outset, not added later to systems built independently.
Interoperability must start with the specifications
This change in approach has direct implications for hospital procurement. Representatives from Gerota Hospital and Gomoiu Hospital have emphasized the need to include interoperability requirements in the specifications from the outset. If these requirements are missing, connecting the systems later on can become difficult and costly.
At the same time, simply mentioning a standard such as HL7 is not enough. The data structure, terminology, fields, formats, and rules governing how information is transmitted and received must be established.
One key takeaway from the discussion is, therefore, the need to define a common language for medical data: what patient information should be shared, in what format, who manages it, and how it can accompany the patient as they move from one doctor to another or from one hospital to another.
A hospital can be connected on the inside and isolated on the outside
The experience of Gerota Hospital has highlighted another aspect of the problem. The hospital has developed an ecosystem in which systems communicate across departments, the laboratory, the PACS, and the operating room; however, difficulties arise when information needs to be transmitted to external systems and institutions. “We can send the information, but we’re not sure if they’re ready to receive it, ” explained Alida Moise, manager of Gerota Hospital.
Interoperability cannot, therefore, be addressed solely by individual hospitals. Participants repeatedly emphasized the need for coordination at the national level to establish standards, data structures, institutional responsibilities, and the overall direction of development.
Dragoș Ignătescu of STS emphasized that the communications and data-sharing infrastructure can be provided, but there must be clear rules regarding which systems need to communicate and the specifications that must be followed. “If everyone does whatever they want, however they want, and digitizes only their own little piece of the system, we’ll never get where we want to go.”
Data must flow, but securely
Interoperability also has a direct clinical implication: continuity of care. Dr. Alexandra Iutiș of ANMCS linked access to a patient’s medical history to a clinician’s ability to make informed decisions and emphasized the need for data exchange to be designed in tandem with security measures. “Data interoperability ensures something very important: the continuity of a patient’s care.”
In this context, interoperability involves not only access to information, but also cybersecurity, data protection, access control, backup, redundancy, and incident recovery plans.
Digitization doesn't end with the purchase
Another conclusion of the meeting was that digitization and interoperability must be viewed as ongoing processes. Not only are initial investments needed, but also funding for infrastructure, development, maintenance, technical support, security, and staff training. Participants also highlighted the shortage of IT specialists in hospitals and the difficulty of finding people who understand medical processes, technology, procurement, and management all at once.
At the same time, Romania is not starting from scratch. The experiences shared by hospitals such as Marie Curie, Buhuși, Gerota, Cluj, Gomoiu, and Suceava show that there are already projects and solutions that can be documented and turned into replicable models.
From Identifying Problems to a Practical Guide
The first meeting of the National Working Group was intended to identify the issues. The next stage, scheduled for October 21, will be dedicated to exploring solutions in greater depth and formulating concrete recommendations. The conclusions of the discussions will contribute to the development of a guide on the interoperability of hospital information systems, intended for both hospital administrators and relevant authorities.
The document aims to provide hospitals with practical guidelines on the organization of responsibilities, data flow and security, the procurement of interoperable systems and equipment, and the management of integrations. For authorities, the guide will address topics such as coordination, standardization, funding, and the delineation of responsibilities at the system level.
The National Working Group on the Interoperability of Information Systems in Romania’s Public Hospitals is an initiative of HealthTech Forum 2026 and Clinomic Romania, implemented by Oameni și Companii.
