FHIR APIs are part of the Promoting Interoperability measure Provide Patients Electronic Access to Their Health Information of the MIPS Quality Payment Program. If you need to report for MIPS, you can set up your FHIR APIs in order to report. If you do not need to report for MIPS, you don't need to set up the FHIR APIs.
Have questions about your reporting status, check our article Check Your MIPS Participation Status.
What to Expect with FHIR APIs Enabled
Once we enable FHIR APIs for your practice, your patients will start receiving emails inviting patients to access their clinical data based on their clinical notes via your FHIR API's. See the example below.
In order for this to work for your MIPS reporting there are two requirements:
- You need to ensure patients are set up with their email address in the Patient Demographics screen in the patient chart.
- Clinicians also need to ensure they are signing & locking clinical notes within 4 business days of their appointment. The Sign & Lock process will push a copy of the patient's CCDA in order to populate your FHIR APIs with their clinical data.
Below are some other resources on FHIR APIs
Setting Up ConnectEHR for FHIR
Resources for your Patients:
Sample Patient Email
Subject: Welcome to the <<Practice Name>> FHIR APIs
Email Body:
Hello,
This email is your invitation to access your personal health data using our practice's FHIR APIs. Accessing your data this way is optional and no additional steps are necessary on your part.
Our FHIR APIs are a modern way to securely interact with and retrieve your health information from our practice. These APIs are one of two options you have to access your health information. For most patients, using OnPatient.com to access their personal health information is the easiest and best choice. Reach out to your practice if you have not already set up an OnPatient.com account.
Your API Account Activation Information:
Steps to Complete
- To activate your account, please access the site by clicking here.
- Select Login
- An option for Click Here to Activate will be shown below the username and password fields
- Once selected, you will need to provide your First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and Activation Key (myN/MymSf6fxFLT/a)
- Create a Username and Password. Keep these credentials as you will need them to access your account.
Once activated, keep these details safe:
- Your API ID: 101358
- Your Activation Key: myN/MymSf6fxFLT/a
Why am I receiving this?
The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) is a standard for exchanging healthcare information electronically. It is designed to facilitate the exchange of electronic health records (EHRs) and other healthcare data between different systems.
The Interoperability and Patient Access final rule requires the use of FHIR by a variety of CMS-regulated payers, including Medicare Advantage organizations, state Medicaid programs, and qualified health plans in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace by 2021.
Specifically, the rule requires FHIR APIs for Patient Access, Provider Directory, and Payer-to-Payer exchange. The primary goal of the rule is to put patients first by giving them access to their health information when they need it most and in a way they can best use it. Patients and their healthcare providers will have the opportunity to be more informed, which can lead to better care and improved patient outcomes, while at the same time reducing burden.
Warm regards,
The <<Your Practice Name Here>> Team