UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, today announced during its FORWARD 5 global user conference that it has added Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-enabled application programming interface (API) automation to significantly simplify how healthcare organizations exchange information across systems, with particular utility for accessing and using regulated FHIR endpoints.

With this new capability, organizations can use UiPath Integration Service with FHIR-enabled endpoints to orchestrate turnkey automations within EHR systems meeting the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Cures Act FHIR certification criteria—such as Epic and Oracle Cerner—and a broader set of health IT systems that have voluntarily deployed FHIR endpoints. FHIR API automation from UiPath is particularly useful automating FHIR-based information sharing subject to contract, as when provider organizations seek to automate clinician tasks or share data among health plans, accountable care organizations (ACOs), and other clinically integrated networks.

The healthcare industry is continuing its transition to FHIR, spurred by Cures Act and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulatory requirements, as it is the leading, open, internet-based data sharing standard fostering “plug and play” application access to legacy systems. However, there remains a sizable educational gap for health organizations as to how to access and use FHIR endpoints to lower integration headwinds from the myriad point solutions on the market. The variability of diverse information systems used in the industry and customization options causes fragmentation, gradually adding cost and complexity to modernization initiatives.

In addition, CIOs and other business leaders are challenged with the complexity of moving systems to the cloud in a secure and compliant way while mitigating excessive costs. Using UiPath FHIR-enabled API automation, organizations can upskill their workforce to maximize the return on FHIR investment, reduce dependencies on middleware APIs, and eliminate the need for custom extensions to complete data exchange for processes like quality measurement, regulatory reporting, and payer-to-provider exchange.

“We are on the cusp of the most impactful health IT ‘upgrade’ since the initial HITECH Act as we scale modern, internet-based interoperability tools,” said Aneesh Chopra, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and CareJourney President. “FHIR API automation tools should dramatically lower the skills barrier for all organizations to benefit from regulated, standards-based data sharing, which accelerates the benefits of interop for next-generation quality measures, social needs screening, prior authorization, price transparency, and public health reporting.”

According to Gartner, an estimated 40% to 50% of healthcare provider tasks can be automated. In addition, Gartner estimates that by 2023, half of U.S. healthcare providers will dedicate resources to deploy robotic process automation (RPA) to enable the automation journey.

FHIR activities are suitable for use in a wide variety of contexts – cloud communications, EHR-based data sharing, server communication in large institutional health care providers, and other processes. UiPath Integration Service allows developers to discover an expanded approach to robotic process automation (RPA) connectivity, enabling them with integrations to automate faster and at scale. UiPath Integration Service provides central access to both UI and API integration in the same environment. FHIR-enabled API automation may be used to facilitate the exchange of data between disparate systems, such as two different EMR/EHR systems or between a PACS/VNA and an EMR/EHR.

The capability also facilitates the transfer of data to a cloud platform to be used as a managed repository to expose data to patient- and provider-facing apps. Organizations using this capability benefit from the ease of a cloud platform to ingest data and export data into data warehouses, where the data can be analyzed or used for machine learning (ML) model training, among other use cases.

About UiPath
UiPath has a vision to deliver the Fully Automated Enterprise™, one where companies use automation to unlock their greatest potential. UiPath offers an end-to-end platform for automation, combining the leading Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities that enable every organization to rapidly scale digital business operations.