Today MassLight launched ZapEHR 1.0, the API-First Healthtech cloud service, with a suite of new services including multi-party engagement and messaging, insurance validation, FHIR R5 support, MFA and passwordless authentication, telehealth video, developer console, client SDK, and an open-source EHR. Together these represent a massive upgrade in capabilities for any organization building EHRs and health-tech applications.
Six months ago, the first beta of ZapEHR launched, including a FHIR R4 API, provisioned identity management, and hosted endpoints. Since then, ZapEHR customers have been busy building sophisticated applications on top of our core services offerings within our API management platform. Clinical applications built on ZapEHR are now responsible for nearly 2 million active patient records.
But we have always seen ZapEHR as far more than an enhanced FHIR API.
Having built health-tech software for many years, we know releasing a new EHR requires hundreds of thousands of person-hours and years to deliver. This represents an insurmountable barrier to organizations interested in delivering new models of clinical care with provider-centric, fully compliant software. Combined with an open-source front-end like Ottehr, ZapEHR will reduce the time and effort needed to release a custom EHR by 95%, taking projects from years to weeks.
“Our new behavioral health intake application, built on ZapEHR, allowed us to build a solution that is customized for our use including scheduling, insurance validation, and direct integration with our eClinicalWorks EHR.”
- Mordechai Raskas, Chief Medical Information Officer at PM Pediatric Care
ZapEHR is an API-first solution. You can invoke ZapEHR APIs entirely a la carte. There is no data silo, no obligation to use any particular front-end. You can use our open-source EHR or not. You can maintain your own database or not. You can build an application entirely on ZapEHR’s hosted infrastructure or interact strictly with the APIs you need statelessly. You can create inbound Zambdas (serverless hosted functions) that accept invocations from external systems, and you can create outbound Zambas that listen for ZapEHR events and push data to external systems. You will not experience the restrictions on external integrations that monolithic EHRs impose.
Our identity and access management service has out-of-box support for user and credential management, granular customizable access policies, multi-factor authentication (MFA), including Passwordless SMS, segregated environments and roles and a complete OAuth2 implementation.
SMS & chat messaging service offers support for customized one-way messaging and multi-party threaded two-way communications without requiring external account setup, configuration or integration. Sending an SMS to patients is a single line API call, and complex, multi-party threaded communications with routing and promotion are also directly supported within the API.
In addition to our FHIR store, the Z3 File storage service provides binary storage that directly integrates with ZapEHR role based security, access policies, and FHIR associated events and triggers. This can be used to easily handle file management workflows like uploading insurance cards, DICOM images or other arbitrary unstructured data to trigger workflow activity.
ZapEHR offers a comprehensive read/write FHIR API and hosted storage for both R4 and R5. It’s almost table-stakes, but because so few EHR vendors actually offer full, unrestricted FHIR access, it’s important. FHIR is the native data model of ZapEHR, not a bolt-on afterthought. We support multiple versions of FHIR and an upgrade path as new versions are released. However, we view ZapEHR as “more than just a FHIR store.”
Offering direct FHIR access is critical for interoperability of information exchange and implementing many workflows, but the real power of ZapEHR’s FHIR API is that it is directly integrated with all our other service offerings. So, if you want to do an insurance validation, order a diagnostic test, initiate a video telemed call, or support SMS or text chat, you can do so directly from ZapEHR APIs and appropriate FHIR records are created.
While we have always embraced a usage-based pricing model, it’s important to note how this stands out from the rest of the headless EHR platforms.
ZapEHR's usage-based pricing model provides unparalleled flexibility and cost-effectiveness. With no upfront expenses, lengthy annual commitments, per-provider fees, or hidden integration costs, this model offers transparent and straightforward API pricing.
Clients benefit from scalability without being tied down by fixed monthly charges or revenue deductions, fostering a more adaptable and financially accommodating approach.
Moreover, ZapEHR's provision of a free tier allows users to initiate their EHR journey without initial financial burdens, making it an accessible and user-friendly solution.
ZapEHR’s insurance validation service allows you to directly submit patient insurance information for real-time validation from payers.
Traditional systems require additional flat fee, subscription model, or pay-per-use model, but with ZapEHR, we offer industry-low and transparent pricing of $0.20 per insurance validation check; no additional fees or subscriptions required. With this service you can:
Your providers love how efficiently they can document within your current EHR, right? Imagine an EHR where you could easily build custom clinical encounter solutions tailored to your own needs. Eliminate all the unnecessary distractions and clicking with a documentation solution that exactly fits your org.
Customize secure, HIPAA compliant telehealth solutions for remote communication and monitoring. ZapEHR offers the building blocks for delivering complex, custom solutions that integrate a first-class telehealth experience directly into your EHR.
With our telehealth solution you can:
Scheduling can be incredibly complicated because scheduling systems often must consider very specific factors like specific patient input, payer requirements that vary contract to contract, state licensure, type of appointment, provider preferences, time of day, overall capacity, and other organization specific details. This complexity lends itself very cleanly to custom solutions.
Our appointment scheduling application has fully functional workflows from slot selection to confirmations and reminders.
Looking ahead, ZapEHR's roadmap unveils exciting developments that align with the evolving needs of the health tech industry.
This out-the-box certification is instrumental in supporting healthcare providers' eligibility for Medicare reimbursement under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) without having to invest the time and labor to develop the stringent criteria yourself.
By meeting ONC-certified criteria, providers can qualify for the highest MIPS reimbursement rates, fostering improved patient care, operational efficiency, and financial incentives within the evolving healthcare landscape.
In addition, this certification ensures compliance with federal regulations and standards, thereby enhancing data security, privacy, and interoperability within the healthcare system.
Smart on FHIR is an innovative system that merges the FHIR standard with the SMART Health IT platform, allowing developers to craft secure, interoperable healthcare applications.
These applications can seamlessly integrate with Electronic Health Records (EHR) while maintaining stringent security and user permission controls.
Ultimately, it empowers healthcare providers and patients with user-friendly tools that efficiently interact with EHR systems, enhancing the accessibility and usability of health-related applications.
ZapEHR’s claims submission service allows you to directly submit claims to any payer. You don’t need to contract for or configure a clearinghouse or otherwise arrange for external accounts and access to process submissions, ZapEHR handles all of that under the hood.
This service streamlines the process by wrapping key claims APIs and automatically generating FHIR resources to represent claims while accommodating different customer requirements within the EHR system. With this service you can:
ZapEHR provides both an API and embeddable UIs for eRx. Our eRx service is unique in that we handle prescription issues without requiring intervention from a clinician in most cases. If a medication is out of stock, the pharmacy is closed, or there is a long wait time, we automate the process of communicating with the patient to re-route the prescription. This is a huge time-saver for many clinical use-cases.
A simple diagnostic ordering API that allows your application’s users to directly place orders for laboratory and radiology with Quest, Labcorp, and thousands of smaller independent facilities.
Like all ZapEHR services, you are welcome to use your own payment processor, but ZapEHR will soon provide a payment processing solution powered by Stripe that allows you, without any additional account creation or integration effort, to immediately process payments from patients.
We aggregate all payment activity through our service to leverage better processing rates with volume, which we directly pass on to ZapEHR users. Like all ZapEHR services, the payment processing API integrates automatically with our FHIR datastore to facilitate tracking and association of co-pays, claims submission, billing services, and other revenue cycle management activities.
For a full set of our services, check out the services page. Unlock the future of healthcare technology with ZapEHR’s 1.0 release. Seamlessly integrate these features into your healthcare solutions and experience it firsthand by requesting FREE ACCESS to our sandbox today.
Stay connected with the ZapEHR community through our Slack channel and opt in for our newsletter, ZapEHR Byte, to receive the latest updates and insights.
What is a headless EHR and how does it differ from traditional EHR systems?
A headless EHR refers to a modular approach where the front-end user interface is decoupled from the back-end functionality. Unlike traditional EHR systems, which are monolithic and tightly integrated, a headless EHR allows for greater flexibility and customization, enabling developers to build tailored healthcare applications using APIs and microservices.
How can a headless EHR improve interoperability in healthcare?
Headless EHR systems leverage APIs and standardized data formats like FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) to facilitate seamless communication and data exchange between different healthcare systems and applications. By decoupling the presentation layer from the data layer, headless EHRs promote interoperability and enable the integration of diverse healthcare technologies.
What are the advantages of using a API-first healthcare cloud service like ZapEHR for software development?
Healthcare APIs provide developers with access to a wide range of pre-built functionalities and data sources, allowing for faster development and integration of healthcare applications. By leveraging APIs (ZapEHR's zambdas service), developers can streamline workflows, enhance user experiences, and create innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.
How does ZapEHR ensure security and compliance with healthcare regulations when using its headless EHR platform?
ZapEHR prioritizes security and compliance with healthcare regulations, implementing robust measures to safeguard patient data and ensure adherence to industry standards. Our platform employs encryption, access controls, and audit trails to protect sensitive information. Additionally, ZapEHR undergoes regular audits and certifications to maintain compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and other healthcare regulations. Developers can confidently build healthcare applications on ZapEHR knowing that security and compliance are top priorities. See our roadmap for our upcoming ONC certification.
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Our new behavioral health intake application, built on ZapEHR, allowed us to build a solution that is customized for our use including scheduling, insurance validation, and direct integration with our eClinicalWorks EHR.
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Chief Medical Information Officer at PM Pediatric Care
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