From Pipes to Platform: Building an AI‑Ready, Standards‑First Healthcare Backbone

In this episode of the Interop Now at Vibe series on The Beat Podcast, host Sandy Vance sits down with Adam Luff, VP of Product Solutions at Infor, and Jesse Evans, Product Director for Infor FHIR Services, for a deep and practical conversation about why semantic interoperability is the make-or-break factor for AI in healthcare. With decades of experience between them, Adam and Jesse explain why organizations that skip the data normalization step are building on a foundation that will eventually collapse. From prior authorization workflows to longitudinal patient records, this episode is essential listening for any healthcare leader who wants to understand what AI-ready infrastructure actually looks like.In this episode, they talk about:AI cannot make sense of data that is not semantically normalizedIntegration wires things up; interoperability makes the data actually usableA single patient can exist under multiple names and identifiers across dozens of systemsFHIR is not a replacement for HL7, it is the latest version of the HL7 specificationPoor data quality in EHRs is the rule, not the exception, even at well-resourced organizationsEvent-driven architecture enables prior authorization workflows to run with no human interventionInfor's longitudinal patient record viewer pulls data from up to 70 archival systems into one normalized viewThe FHIR server is becoming the source of truth, replacing the EHR as the authoritative recordBed turnover and discharge workflows are where providers are capturing real, measurable ROI right nowA well-governed, normalized data platform unlocks an almost unlimited number of AI use casesA Little About Adam and Jesse:Adam Luff has been with Infor for six years and has spent about 20 years in the provider space. Before Infor, he worked at a company that manufactures large MRI and CT machinery. He focuses on business impact with provider organizations.Jesse Evans has been at Infor for about 10 years, first as a Principal Solutions Architect and now as Product Director for Infor FHIR Services. He has been in the healthcare enterprise industry for about 20 years, with deep expertise in integration engines, interoperability, and FHIR standards.