The Substitutable Medical Apps and Reusable Technology (SMART) Health IT project launched in 2010 to facilitate the development of medical apps that are scalable and substitutable. SMART defines an open application programming interface (API) specification that enables apps to connect to electronic health record systems and data warehouses without custom integration efforts. The SMART-enabled version of the Meducation app, developed by Polyglot, has been implemented at scores of hospitals and clinics in the United States, nation-wide. After expanding their product’s reach by relying on a universal, open API for integrations, the team estimates that one project manager can handle up to 20 simultaneous implementations. The app is made available through the SMART App Gallery, an open app store that supports discovery of apps and, because the apps are substitutable, market competition. This case illustrates how a universal open API for patient and clinician-facing health IT systems supported and accelerated commercial success for a start-up company. Giving end users a wide and ever-growing choice of apps that leverage data generated by the health care system and patients at home through a universal, open API is a promising and generalizable approach for rapid diffusion of innovation across health systems.
[1]
I. Kohane,et al.
No small change for the health information economy.
,
2009,
The New England journal of medicine.
[2]
Lisa Rosenbaum,et al.
Transitional Chaos or Enduring Harm? The EHR and the Disruption of Medicine.
,
2015,
The New England journal of medicine.
[3]
Kenneth D. Mandl,et al.
A 21st-Century Health IT System - Creating a Real-World Information Economy.
,
2017,
The New England journal of medicine.
[4]
Joshua C. Mandel,et al.
Driving Innovation in Health Systems through an Apps-Based Information Economy.
,
2015,
Cell systems.
[5]
Kenneth D. Mandl,et al.
SMART on FHIR: a standards-based, interoperable apps platform for electronic health records
,
2016,
J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..
[6]
J Michael McCoy,et al.
The SMART Platform: early experience enabling substitutable applications for electronic health records
,
2012,
J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..
[7]
Jeffrey Shuren,et al.
FDA Regulation of Mobile Medical Apps.
,
2018,
JAMA.