In the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, patient access Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are powerful tools that enable health plan members to navigate their healthcare journey more easily. The emergence of increasingly effective patient APIs is partially driven by the clear need voiced by patients. Recent research sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trust noted that 61% of respondents said “they want to be able to access their medical records from providers’ EHRs on mobile device apps or through an online patient portal.”

There is a major opportunity for health plans to increase member engagement and satisfaction, key drivers of CMS Star ratings, by highlighting the benefits of patient access APIs. Here are several talking points health plans can communicate to plan members about leading APIs that will help deliver personalized care that reflects patient preferences and more complete medical information.

1. Instant Access to Personal Health Records: Patient access APIs grant health plan members access to their personal health records. This usually includes lab results, medical history, and medication information. By using the API to review their records, plan members can ensure that the information is up-to-date, and reflects important health data that may be held by held by all the patient’s doctors, both in-network and out-of-network.

2. Scheduling Appointments: With patient access APIs, health plan members can conveniently book appointments to ensure that crucial healthcare visits are scheduled.

3. Communication Preferences: One advantage of patient access APIs is that it enables plan members to indicate their preferred communications mode, be it phone, email, text message, etc.

4. Preventive Care Reminders: Receiving automated preventive screenings and vaccinations reminders from patient access APIs can help plan members safeguard their health.

5. Health Data Sharing: Patient access APIs facilitate secure sharing of health data between the members’ medical doctors, specialists, and other care delivery team members.

To learn more about how Health Chain is helping patients and health plans get the most out of patient access APIs, contact us.