How to Leverage SMART on FHIR with Athenahealth EHR for Streamlining Data Communication

August 16, 2024 admin EHR

Better interoperability ensures smooth coordination between healthcare professionals. So, it is more required for today’s healthcare. If your practice has adopted the athenahealth EHR, integrating SMART with FHIR is one powerful way of enhancing the health data interoperability between healthcare systems. Improving the interoperability results in the improvement of patient outcomes.

This blog post will share everything about the benefits of SMART on FHIR with athenahealth EHR and how to avoid the challenges of this process.

What is SMART on FHIR?

SMART (Substitutable Medical Applications and Reusable Technologies) on FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is an open standards-based framework. This enables the health care applications to be easily interfaced with EHRs such as athenahealth.

It allows developers to create applications that can be easily integrated with various healthcare systems. The framework provides a structure for the accessing of healthcare data and its utilization as well as the method of sharing such data. SMART on FHIR enhances:

Data accessibility
Streamlines workflows
Supports patient-centered care by enabling various apps to connect and function within EHR environments.

Key Advantages of SMART on FHIR in Healthcare

SMART on FHIR offers various advantages for healthcare practices which include:

Interoperability: It makes the health information exchange between healthcare systems more easier.
Substitutability: Allows for building apps that can map to each EHR environment and launch apps on different EHR systems to run at the same time.
Enhanced Patient Care: Offers clinicians a wide range of applications to support both clinical and various administration needs, thereby enhancing care and the patient’s condition.
Cost Efficiency: Helps to reduce expenses associated with development and integration because clients avoid the need for tailored connections with the EHR systems.
Innovation: Encourages the development of a diverse array of healthcare applications that can be easily adopted by providers and patients.

Athenahealth EHR – A Cloud-Based Solution and Its Interoperability Features

AthenaHealth is one of the EHR providers on the market. This streamlined program is intended to assist clinicians optimize workflows, raising practice revenue, saving staff time, and improving clinical health data interchange.

Small and medium-sized healthcare practices can benefit from AthenaHealth Cloud EHR. The cloud-based EHR has customizable tools such as macros, forms, templates, encounters, and other features that align with the practice workflow, which helps to save documentation time.

AthenaHealth Cloud EHR provides real-time patient insights and data, facilitating quick and informed decision-making. They also have a mobile app, ehr – AthenaOne, that can be integrated with the cloud-based EHR system to improve access and ecosystem within the healthcare system.

On the interoperability part, It supports SMART on FHIR, allowing seamless integration with third-party applications. Athenahealth provides a robust set of FHIR resources, enabling secure data access and exchange between healthcare systems. Its interoperability features include:

FHIR APIs: Support for RESTful APIs based on FHIR standards, enabling efficient data exchange.
Customization: It allows the extension of core FHIR resources to meet specific organizational needs.
Security: Advanced authentication and authorization protocols to protect sensitive patient data during exchanges

Related: AthenaHealth EHR Guide: All You Need to Know

The Importance of Streamlined Data Communication in Healthcare

Efficient health data communication is important as it helps to elevate the quality of patient services, increasing the efficiency of care delivery, and also decreasing the costs of service delivery.

Health data communication also enables quick data accessibility about the patient’s information; such data can be useful in clinical decision-making processes, and reduce errors.

It assists with the collection of multiple systems involved in patient care and disseminating data on the present state of a patient; providers, patients, and payers, among others, are made informed.

As healthcare becomes more complicated, the interoperability of data across various systems is crucial for providing the appropriate care and enhancing healthcare operations.

Things to Know Before Integrating SMART on FHIR with Athenahealth EHR

Before integrating SMART on FHIR with athenahealth EHR, it is necessary to know a few things about the integration.

1. Technical Requirements

Integrating SMART on FHIR with Athenahealth EHR requires meeting specific technical requirements:

FHIR Compatibility: Make sure your app can operate under the FHIR R4 standard.
API Access: Get the Developer’s keys and learn more about the FHIR API provided by Athenahealth.
Data Mapping: Map your app’s data structures to the corresponding FHIR resources in Athenahealth.
Secure Communication: Implement OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication and authorization processes

2. Authentication and Authorization

Authentication and authorization are key for secure data exchanges between your SMART on the FHIR application and Athenahealth EHR. Implement OAuth 2. 0 which is an industry standard to protect APIs. The process involves:

Client Registration: Register your application with Athenahealth to obtain client credentials.
Token Exchange: Use the OAuth 2. 0 protocol for swapping authorization codes to access tokens to facilitate your app to securely work within the FHIR.
Access Control: Specify scopes to set up prohibitions on what data your app can work with

3. Data Mapping and Interoperability

This data mapping is important because it prepares your SMART on the FHIR app to interact with the athenahealth EHR. This involves:

Mapping Data Elements: Map the fields of your app to the related FHIR resources and elements employed by Athenahealth.
Ensuring Consistency: Ensure that the data types that you are using in your app and the formats you are using are standard compliant with FHIR.
Handling Extensions: Incorporate any custom extensions provided by Athenahealth to support specific use cases

4. API Endpoints and Resources

When integrating with Athenahealth EHR, understanding the available API endpoints and resources is critical. Key considerations include:

Resource Identification: Identify the specific FHIR resources (e.g., Patient, Encounter, Observation) that your app needs to interact with.
Endpoint Configuration: Configure your app to use the correct API endpoints for accessing these resources.
Query Parameters: Use Athena Health’s predefined search parameters to filter and retrieve relevant data efficiently

5. Testing and Validation Process

Testing and validation are essential to ensure that your SMART on the FHIR app functions correctly with Athenahealth EHR. The process includes:

Unit Testing: Test individual components of your app to ensure they work as expected.
Integration Testing: Validate the interaction between your app and Athenahealth’s FHIR APIs, ensuring seamless data exchange.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Involve end-users to test the app in a real-world setting and gather feedback.
Compliance Testing: Ensure the app adheres to relevant regulatory standards and guidelines

6. Compliance and Security Considerations

Compliance and security are paramount when integrating SMART on FHIR with Athenahealth EHR. Key factors include:

Regulatory Compliance: Adhere to HIPAA and other relevant healthcare regulations to protect patient data.
Data Encryption: Ensure all data transmitted between your app and Athenahealth’s EHR is encrypted using industry-standard protocols.
Audit Trails: Implement logging mechanisms to track access and modifications to sensitive data, ensuring transparency and accountability

7. Performance and Scalability

For your SMART on FHIR app to be successful, it must be performant and scalable. Consider the following:

Optimized Queries: Use efficient querying techniques to minimize response times and reduce the load on Athenahealth’s servers.
Load Balancing: Implement load balancing strategies to handle high traffic and ensure the app remains responsive under peak usage.
Scalability Testing: Regularly test your app’s performance under varying loads to ensure it can scale effectively as demand grows

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Integrating SMART on FHIR with Athenahealth EHR can present challenges such as:

Complex Data Mapping: Address this by thoroughly understanding both your app’s data model and the FHIR resources it needs to interact with.
Security Concerns: Mitigate these by adhering to best practices in authentication, authorization, and data encryption.
Regulatory Compliance: Stay updated with healthcare regulations and ensure your app remains compliant as standards evolve.

Related: 5 Challenges Associated with HL7 FHIR and How CapMinds Helps to Solve

Struggling with athenahealth EHR? CapMinds Solution is here to rescue

While athenahealth EHR has more benefits and potential pitfalls, practices need the EHR system to resonate with the practice to improve efficiency.

CapMinds is an expert health tech company with over 14 years of experience in the field, offering a vast range of solutions to smooth running workflows with maximum efficiency.

Our solution offers comprehensive training for athenahealth EHR solutions to ensure providers are experiencing their full potential.
CapMind assists in integrating various modules like lab integration, payment integration, Google Workspace integration, clearing house integration, and more.
CapMind’s customizable athenahealth EHR software ensures it meets your practice’s requirements and needs.

If you want to experience the full capability of EHR that resonates with your practice workflow, CapMinds is the one you can rely on.