Critical factors to achieve a higher level of information sharing include: a) the development and adoption of global data interchange
standards that are harmonized between health care and clinical trials; b) the use of technology that is more
acceptable to users; c) clarification of and adherence to regulatory requirements for health care and clinical trials; d) implementation of new technologies that are being employed
by other
industries to facilitate data interchange, specifically the use of the eXtensible Markup Language or XML.