FHIR API Is Not So Hot?

The healthcare industry is always changing and evolving, so it's no surprise that the healthcare technology landscape is also constantly shifting. This study published in JAMIA highlights a change to healthcare software integration with APIs. The number of API EHR integrations increased from 2019 to 2020, but the proportion of APIs that support the FHIR data exchange standard remained relatively the same.

The JAMIA showed that Cerner, Epic Systems Corporation, and SMART had a net increase in the total number of apps in their app gallery while athenahealth and Allscripts had a net decrease in apps. Increasing the number of apps in the app store is great but are the apps effective where it is attractive enough for a health system to buy it.

Two weeks ago, I posted my thoughts on the healthcare API vendor space and it is a crowded space.

With so many healthcare API providers, health system CIOs are faced with the difficult decision of deciding which company to go. The preferred approach for most is to build on existing capabilities and connections that could already be available via APIs versus designing a solution from scratch.

Companies (Redox, Ribbon Health, Collective Medical, Particle Health, Gorilla Health) are attracting the attention of investors while decision-makers may not be paying attention to them.

Overall, are we losing steam with FHIR API or is there another underlying reason for the slow uptick?