APIs are offering modern tech businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, many exciting new opportunities. APIs allow digital health companies to leverage high performing tech stacks, launch their new offerings faster and, most importantly, build deep product expertise by focusing on doing one thing well.

Health tech stakeholders are harnessing the power of APIs to take advantage of the benefits that are already enjoyed by fintech and consumer tech, all while keeping a watchful eye on security and HIPAA compliance. This means we’re seeing an increasingly innovative healthcare ecosystem, where growth and adaptation is more streamlined than ever before. In this article, we’ll explore some of the key ways medical APIs are beginning to transform this vital industry.

How APIs benefit healthcare

Healthcare has often been called a “legacy industry”. Due to its stringent regulatory requirements and a reliance on antiquated systems for hospital infrastructure, it has been one of the slowest industries to modernize. However, we’re finally seeing that begin to change. 

Patients and healthcare providers alike are becoming more invested in a new type of — digital health healthcare: a longitudinal, preventative approach that focuses on care happening outside of existing legacy systems. We’re seeing much more care happening in outpatient clinics, on the internet, or in people’s own homes via telehealth. 

Changing preferences and norms around how care is delivered has set the stage for an overhaul of the healthcare industry. Many digital health startups realize that, if we need to create new platforms to meet the growing demand for virtual healthcare, we may as well do it right. This means leveraging APIs to save time, launch faster, and increase innovation, all while maintaining key security and privacy requirements.

How APIs are helping digital health startups transform the healthcare industry

Preventing recreating the wheel

There’s simply no need to reinvent the core fundamentals of healthcare, such as electronic intake forms, charting and EHR, telehealth, or insurance claim creation. While all digital health startups put their own spin on these things to provide a bespoke creation that’s tailored to their customer base, medical APIs can provide access to the backend functionality. Using an API for these basic features drastically cuts down on development time, so startups can instead focus on perfecting the features that make them unique.

Better client engagement and monitoring

Wearables and devices created by digital health companies are changing the way that clients can share important data with their healthcare providers. API integrations with such devices allow healthcare providers to monitor activity, predict, and intervene to better manage their clients’ health than ever before. 

Whether it’s prenatal care, behavioral health, general wellness, or diabetes prevention, APIs serve as the connector between the device and the provider platform. With easier client engagement and monitoring, healthcare providers are able to take a more informed and proactive approach to their clients’ health.

Supporting long-trends in healthcare

Long-term healthcare trends show that healthcare is increasingly taking place outside of hospitals. This means we need to commit to both preventative healthcare and high quality virtual care. Medical APIs are at the core of the digital health platforms making this new future of healthcare possible, by driving technology like telehealth systems, specialized healthcare apps, wearable devices, and more.

APIs are also highly flexible, allowing digital health startups to adapt their offerings as healthcare trends shift over time. Rather than antiquated systems slowing down what’s possible for healthcare, modern digital health tech can be easily scaled, upgraded, and modified to meet ever-changing preferences and needs.

Driving innovation

Healthcare has previously been slow to innovate, but that doesn’t need to be the case anymore. APIs allow startups to stop building core functionality and start focusing on their unique offerings, all while meeting key security and privacy requirements.

Thanks to APIs, it’s never been easier for digital health companies to build new and exciting health tech products. As a new wave of digital health startups must outcompete the offerings of other cutting edge companies, we’re starting to see more competition in the industry, leading to the opportunity for better patient outcomes overall.

Leveraging Healthie’s API for your digital health startup

Healthie offers a fully white-labeled solution alongside the first API of a HIPAA-compliant EHR and practice management platform. Leverage Healthie’s software platform via our API to build your wellness business smarter; no need to build from scratch.

• Plug in our calendaring, charting, intake form, insurance billing, Superbill, telehealth, payments, documents, programs, logging, and messaging tools into your service offerings.
• Offer a secure patient portal that can be accessed from the web or Heathie’s intuitive mobile app. Full app white-labeling is available.
• Leverage direct integration with industry-leading platforms including Stripe, Zoom, Fullscript, Office Ally, Apple Health, Google Fit, Fitbit, and more.
• Leverage our full suite of patient engagement features, including chat, food & lifestyle journaling, metrics tracking, and more.

Contact us to learn more about our API.

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