Final answer:
A monolithic architecture in health information exchange (HIE) signifies a tightly coupled system design with all components interconnected, where changes to one part may impact the whole system, making scaling and updates challenging.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of the health information exchange (HIE), a monolithic architecture refers to a system design where all components of the system are interconnected and interdependent. In a monolithic architecture, the entire application is tightly coupled and works as a single unit. This implies that any change made to any part of the system could potentially impact the entire system, which makes updates and scaling more complex and challenging.
One of the key characteristics of a monolithic architecture is that it has a single codebase, which makes it simpler to deploy, test, and manage in the short term, especially for smaller applications. However, as the application grows and the need for scaling increases, this architecture can become quite cumbersome.